ean  Kaiiwa 


UC-NI 


•'•    •   -  .>-,y  ,     .<— r 

- 


1  ! 


iilii! 


mmflu 


ill 


5 H  KH 


•nn 


GIFT  OF 


ENGINEERING    LIBRARY 
OF 

WILLIAM   B.  STOREY 

A  GRADUATE  OF 

THE    COLLEGE    OF    MECHANICS 
CLASS   OF  1881 

PRESENTED  TO  THE  UNIVERSITY 
1922 


C77T* 


<?  ' 


Some  European 

Railway  Practices 


Noted  by 


Introduction  by 
R.  V.  WRIGHT 


COPYRIGHT 
H.    W.    JACOBS 

1913 
PRINTED,  NOT  PUBLISHED 


INDEX 

PAGE 

Introductory 

I   Europe  and  America 5 

II   Britain 11 

III  France 33 

IV  Germany 49 

V  Hungary 67 

VI   Locomotive    Terminals ,  .  . 95 

VII   Blowpipe  Welding 109 

VIII   Policies  and  Personnel 121 

IX  Conclusions  1  37 


501828 


INTRODUCTORY 

Conditions  on  European  railways  are  so  widely 
different  from  those  in  this  country  that  an  American 
going  abroad  to  study  foreign  methods,  if  he  wishes 
to  derive  the  full  benefit,  must  not  only  be  thoroughly 
familiar  with  the  conditions  in  this  country,  but  must 
realize  that  the  actual  details  are  not  liable  to  be  of 
much  value  as  applied  directly  to  American  practice, 
and  that  he  must  examine  the  fundamental  principles 
underlying  successful  foreign  practice  with  the  idea 
of  applying  them  only  in-so-far  as  they  fit  American 
conditions.  Mr.  Jacobs  has  been  remarkably  suc- 
cessful in  selecting  those  details  which  are  of  special 
interest  to  Americans.  But  while  he  has  drawn 
attention  to  methods  and  details  of  design  and  opera- 
tion which  may  be  applied  to  advantage  in  America, 
the  greater  value  of  his  work  lies  in  the  broad  study 
of  those  things  which  affect  the  human  element  and 
which  are  of  far  greater  importance  from  the  stand- 
point of  efficiency  than  those  which  affect  only  de- 
sign or  details  of  operation. 

The  most  serious  mistakes  that  have  been  made 
on  the  railways  in  this  country  have  been  the  lack 
of  a  proper  appreciation  of  the  thorough  training 
of  the  workmen ;  of  studying  their  individual  charac- 
teristics in  order  to  detail  them  to  the  classes  of  work 
for  which  they  are  best  fitted,  and  of  safeguarding 
them  not  only  from  physical  injuries,  but  from  in- 
conveniences and  conditions  which  seriously  affect 
their  efficiency.  True,  during  the  past  few  years  we 
have  had  an  awakening  along  these  lines;  but,  after 
all,  only  a  very  small  number  of  our  railroads  are 
giving  them  the  attention  that  they  should.  For 

i 


FOREIGN   RAILWAY   PRACTICE 

instance,  less  than  half  a  dozen  of  the  roads  have 
established  modern  apprenticeship  systems,  although 
there  can  be  no  question  as  to  the  value  of  this,  as 
indicated  by  the  results  that  have  been  obtained  on 
the  Santa  Fe  and  the  New  York  Central  Lines.  Ger- 
many and  Hungary  have  highly  developed  systems 
for  the  selection  and  training  of  apprentices. 

Neither  railroad  companies  nor  industrial  concerns 
have  awakened  to  the  importance  of  studying  the 
men  in  order  to  place  each  individual  where  his 
efforts  will  be  the  most  productive;  yet  the  value  of 
this  has  been  recognized  quite  fully  in  some  Euro- 
pean railway  shop  plants.  The  nearest  approach  to 
it  on  a  large  scale  on  American  railways  was  the 
scheme  established  by  LeGrand  Parish  a  number  of 
years  ago  in  the  mechanical  department  of  the  Lake 
Shore  &  Michigan  Southern.  Records  were  kept  of 
the  individual  characteristics  of  each  man  in  the 
mechanical  department  and  these  were  checked  at 
regular  intervals  to  determine  whether  the  men  were 
developing  properly;  if  they  were  not,  measures  were 
taken  to  secure  better  results  or  to  eliminate  them 
from  the  organization.  Dr.  Katherine  M.  H.  Black- 
ford  surprised  the  industrial  world  a  short  time  ago 
by  placing  before  it  in  a  fully  developed  form  the 
scientific  principles  which  she  had  found  successful 
in  selecting  men  with  a  view  to  a  fitness,  not  only  for 
the  particular  kind  of  work  on  which  they  are  to  be 
"3ed,  but  also  with  a  view  to  the  individual  charac- 
teristics of  the  men  under  whom  they  would  have  to 
work.  There  can  be  no  question  but  what  there  are 
great  possibilities  in  this,  and  that  we  can  well  afford 
to  at  least  follow  the  matter  to  the  extent  that  it  is 
being  carried  out  in  the  Budapest  shops  of  the  Hun- 
garian State  Railways. 

In  our  welfare  work — and  it  has  been  carried  to  a 


INTRODUCTORY  3 

considerable  degree  of  perfection  in  certain  respects 
on  some  roads — we  have  still  much  to  learn  from  the 
European  practice. 

The  position  of  railway  officers  and  foremen  is  on 
a  higher  plane  on  the  European  roads.  In  this 
country,  mechanical  engineers  of  experience  in 
charge  of  the  design  of  cars  and  locomotives,  master 
mechanics  with  important  divisions  under  their 
charge,  and  shop  superintendents,  to  say  nothing  of 
traveling  engineers,  general  foremen,  shop  foremen, 
etc.,  in  many  cases  receive  salaries  which  are  smaller 
than  the  wages  earned  by  many  of  the  men  working 
under  their  direction.  Is  such  a  condition  productive 
of  the  best  results? 

While  Mr.  Jacobs  has  gone  into  the  design  and 
practices  on  foreign  roads  to  a  greater  or  less  extent, 
and  his  observations  in  this  respect  are  important 
because  he  is  so  thoroughly  conversant  with  Ameri- 
can methods,  yet,  important  as  these  are,  those  mat- 
ters concerning  the  organization  which  he  has  drawn 
to  our  attention  are  far  more  important. 

This  volume  is  based  on  a  series  of  articles  on  Im- 
pressions of  Foreign  Railway  Practice,  which  ap- 
peared in  the  Railway  Age  Gazette  during  the  spring 
of  1913,  and  an  article  on  Engine  House  Design  and 
Practice,  which  was  published  in  the  March,  1913, 
issue  of  the  American  Engineer.  Their  collection 
into  book  form  has  made  it  possible  to  rearrange 
them  so  that  certain  important  features  might  be 
presented  to  better  advantage,  and  also  to  add  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  new  material. 

R.  V.  W. 

New  York,  August  7,  1913. 


EUROPE  AND  AMERICA 


EUROPE  AND  AMERICA 

EUROPE  is  the  historic  mother-land  of  America. 
From  her  forested  or  craggy  mountain  fast- 
nesses, from  her  rivers,  plains,  shores  and  isles, 
we  have  brought  our  blood,  our  thought;  the  customs, 
manners,    and    dress,   that   furnish    our   homes;    the 
ideals,  religious,  moral,  and  political,  that  dominate 
us,  that  mold  our  social  institutions;  and  the  pur- 
suits and  industries  by  which  we  live. 

Political  Freedom 

The  most  prolific  of  Europe's  gifts,  to  us  who  have 
pioneered  these  undespoiled  regions,  is  the  ideal  of 
political  freedom  and  representation.  In  the  nurture 
during  the  period  of  adolescence  of  this  ideal  we  have 
ourselves  become  strong  and  great  among  the 
nations.  But  in  the  network  of  that  later  gift,  hardly 
second,  of  tracks  made  straight  and  smooth  by  shin- 
ing, glistening  rails,  we  have  caught  the  commerce 
of  a  broad  continent,  made  it  universally  available, 
equally  to  all,  and  well-nigh  free. 

A  Rail-Girt  Civilization 

The  home  happiness  of  our  people,  our  ample 
tables,  our  sunny,  athletic,  and  intelligent  children, 
our  fructifying  prosperity  and  well-being,  are  due  as 
much  to  the  vigorous  impregnation  of  our  land's 
virgin  resources  by  the  aggressive  steel,  as  to  the 
lighting  of  our  way  by  the  beacon  of  political  equity. 

And  so  an  American,  in  the  pride  of  self-reliance, 
may  yet  today  turn  his  steps  and  his  gaze  toward 


8  FOREIGN  RAILWAY   PRACTICE 

the  cradle  of  the  locomotive  engine,  with  reverence 
for  a  de  facto  past  that  is  our  progenitor,  and  with 
the  respectful  attention  of  youth  for  another  past 
that  still  lives  in  the  experience,  the  conservatism, 
the  stability,  and  the  refinement  and  glowing  beauty, 
of  a  round  maturity. 

Europe's  Traffic 

The  several  countries  of  Europe  present  a  total  area 
nearly  equal  to  that  of  these  United  States  of 
America.  Great  rivers,  mountains,  plains,  inland  seas 
and  ocean  shores;  forests,  mines,  fields,  and  sub-tropi- 
cal fruits;  all  these  shape  the  satisfying  of  the  people's 
needs  there,  much  as  here.  Only,  there  are  four 
times  as  many  mouths  to  feed  from  Europe's  soil, 
four  times  as  many  hands  to  struggle  for  some  share 
of  her  pre-empted  acres  and  occupations,  as  with  us. 
Further,  her  commerce  and  her  industries  are  still 
largely  localized  within  the  borders  of  the  states  of 
their  origin.  These  conditions  give  a  traffic  of  short 
haul  in  small  cars;  a  transportation  system,  serving 
centers  of  production  and  distribution  which  have 
existed  for  centuries;  and  a  repetitive  stability  and 
routine  of  railway  operation — not  found  in  our  own 
land,  where  the  rails  were  the  antennae  that  pene- 
trated, that  guided  us  into,  that  seized  the  western 
wilderness,  and  gave  us  there  a  free,  a  fruitful  home. 
Europe's  railways  were  built  to  serve  commerce  and 
industry;  ours  made  possible  for  us  the  creation  of 
industry  and  commerce  upon  an  unprecedented  scale 
in  a  few  decades,  instead  of  building  for  centuries  as 
did  our  forefathers. 

Earliest  Railways 

While  even  in  1596  a  drawing  was  printed  of  an 
operative  rail  tramway,  it  was  not  until  coal  was 


EUROPE  AND  AMERICA  9 

mined  in  large  quantity  that  rails  and  railway  wagons 
or  cars  became  an  accepted  means  of  carriage.  These 
small  cars,  hooked  together  in  short  trains,  were  first 
pulled  by  horses;  later  up  hillsides  with  rope  cables 
actuated  by  the  steam  mine  pumping  engines;  and 
lastly,  the  proposal  to  mount  one  of  these  pumping 
engines  on  wheels  was  successfully  solved,  making 
possible  the  cheaper  haulage  over  longer  distances 
of  heavier  trains  at  considerable  speed. 

The  European  railroad  of  today  still  bears  the  birth- 
marks and  features  of  this  embryo. 

To  the  motive  power  man  the  railroad  systems  of 


The  Brighton  Express  on  the  London,  Brighton  &  South  Coast. 
(Typical  of  Size  and  Character  of  European  Locomotives  and 
Coaches.) 


Europe  present  an  aggregate  of  about  100,000  loco- 
motives of  all  sizes  and  kinds  (compared  with  60,000 
in  the  United  States),  operating  over  a  railroad 
mileage  somewhat  less  than  the  mileage  of  the 
United  States.  Railroads  having  been  in  existence 
in  Europe  even  longer  than  in  this  country,  naturally, 
in  the  development  in  each  country,  the  special  genius 


10  FOREIGN   RAILWAY   PRACTICE 


of  each  people  has  developed  particular  excellence 
in  one  respect  or  another;  many  of  these  growths 
are  pregnant  with  examples  that  America  might  well 
follow,  or  at  least  study  and  consider  most  carefully. 


BRITAIN 


II 


BRITAIN 

ENGLAND  exhibits  today  the  most  complete  and 
instructive  example  of  railway  development 
that  exists.  She  is  the  mother-land  of  the  rail 
and  locomotive,  and  all  other  lands  have  used  her 
manufactures,  methods,  and  designs  while  in  the 
kindergarten  of  their  railroad  progress.  The  differ- 
ences between  her  practices  and  those  now  found  on 
the  continents  of  Europe  and  America  are  interest- 
ing by  reason  of  the  causes  underlying  the  later 
departures  from  British  precedent.  In  England 
even  irresistible  economic  forces  are  slow  in  chang- 
ing the  traditional  and  conservative  stability  of  com- 
mercial and  transportation  customs  and  conditions. 
So  we  find  there  vestiges  of  the  old,  of  the  solid 
foundations  builded  by  such  pioneers  as  Stephenson 
and  Brunei,  alongside  the  most  modern  of  loco- 
motives, of  coaches,  of  bridges,  embodying  the 
greatest  refinements  of  design,  material  and  opera- 
tion to  be  found  anywhere.  The  patient  deliberation 
and  wisdom  of  age  and  experience  has  succeeded  the 
vigorous  foresight  and  re-constructiveness  of  youth. 

Density,  Passengers  and  Short- Haul 

The  British  railway  system  has  grown  into  an 
exaggerated  suburban  district,  with  London  as  the 
center.  Passenger  revenue  and  problems  have  an  im- 
portance unknown  in  any  other  large  country,  except 
New  England.  But  the  movement  of  freight,  involv- 
ing as  it  does  an  actual  added  value  to  the  economic 
production  of  any  territory,  is  always  a  first  consid- 

13 


14  FOREIGN  RAILWAY  PRACTICE 

eration,  whether  of  the  railroad  lines  belonging  to  a 
single  corporation  or  serving  an  entire  nation.  And 
the  goods  of  England  are  carried  under  much  the 
same  limitations  as  are  the  passengers. 

Most  of  the  traffic  is  of  short  haul  between  dense 
manufacturing  centers  and  big  seaports,  the  freight 
service  as  well  as  the  passenger  service  being  very 
frequent  and  rapid.  The  American  slow  freight, 
large  tonnage  trains  are  practically  unknown;  bridges 
are  not  constructed  for  what  we  call  heavy  wheel 
loads;  and  long  trains  cannot  be  accommodated  in  the 
freight  yards.  The  freight  cars  are  of  small  capacity, 
ranging  from  six  to  twelve  long  tons,  and  are  carried 
on  four  wheels  instead  of  upon  two  swiveling  four 
wheel  trucks  as  with  us.  Automatic  couplers  are  not 
used,  although  the  wheels  of  all  vehicles  are  steel- 
tired  and  have  either  cast  steel  or  wrought  iron 
centers. 

L.  &  N.  W.  Shops 

The  railway  shops  of  the  London  &  North  Western 
at  Crewe,  England,  are  probably  the  largest  in  the 
world,  employing  from  8,000  to  10,000  men.  The  im- 
mense size -is  due  to  the  great  amount  of  railway 
material  manufactured  there.  For  these  reasons- 
quantity  and  variety  of  product — this  plant  is  of 
unique  importance,  and  is  drawn  upon  here  as  fur- 
nishing such  lessons  as  American  mechanical  men 
may  learn  from  British  railway  practice. 

The  London  &  North  Western,  operating  about 
3,000  miles  and  having  over  3,000  locomotives,  9,000 
passenger  cars,  and  77,000  freight  cars,  is  a  strongly 
centralized  road  in  its  administration.  The  manage- 
ment is  what  we  call  departmental,  and  not  divisional. 
The  longest  distance  between  termini,  over  which  this 
railway  runs  trains  upon  its  own  tracks  or  upon  the 


BRITAIN  15 

tracks  of  connecting  lines  where  it  has  "running 
powers"  or  trackage  rights,  does  not  exceed  400 
miles. 

Mechanical  Positions  Attractive 

It  is  recognized  in  England,  the  land  of  the  birth 
of  the  railway,  that  it  is  the  locomotive  rather  than 
the  rail  that  has  made  railroads  of  such  great  im- 
portance as  arteries  of  traffic.  The  chief  mechanical 
engineer,  as  the  superintendent  of  motive  power  is 
termed,  is  therefore  given  a  rank,  consideration  and 
authority,  which  he  does  not  have  in  the  United  States. 
He  has  large  discretion  as  to  the  policy  in  matters 
mechanical  and  is  practically  supreme,  without  inter- 
ference, in  his  own  department.  He  is  asked  to  fur- 
nish locomotives  that  shall  be  a  credit  to  the  railroad, 
and  he  is  encouraged  to  organize  his  staff  so  that  the 
highest  technical  skill  shall  be  brought  to  bear  in  the 
design  of  locomotive  parts  and  in  the  devising  of  re- 
fined running  and  shop  practice.  I  understand  that 
his  compensation  is  commensurate  with  his  responsi- 
bilities and  ranks  higher  than  the  salaries  paid  to 
the  chief  mechanical  officials  of  the  largest  American 
railways.  On  the  London  &  North  Western  the  chief 
mechanical  engineer  is  assisted  by  two  locomotive 
running  superintendents  corresponding  closely  in 
actual  salary,  position  and  duties  with  our  general 
master  mechanics  or  mechanical  superintendents; 
these  in  turn  have  assistants  corresponding  to  master 
mechanics;  a  carriage,  or  passenger  car,  superintend- 
ent; a  wagon,  or  freight  car,  superintendent;  a  chief 
draughtsman,  corresponding  to  our  mechanical  engi- 
neer; a  works  manager,  or  shop  superintendent;  a 
storekeeper,  accountant,  etc.  All  of  these  officers  are 
located  at  Crewe,  with  the  exception  of  the  car  men 
whose  shops  or  "works"  are  at  other  towns  on  the 
road. 


18  FOREIGN  RAILWAY  PRACTICE 

So  much  for  the  general  characteristics  of  the  cor- 
poration for  which  the  Crewe  works  are  required  to 
build  and  maintain  the  locomotives.  These  works 
extend  in  a  narrow  strip  parallel  to  the  London  & 
North  Western  for  a  distance  of  about  3  miles,  cover- 
ing perhaps  200  acres.  They  consist  of  the  "Old 
Works"  whose  name  is  descriptive  and  which  consti- 
tuted a  complete  plant  for  locomotive  building  and 
repairs;  and  the  "Steel  Works"  where  all  of  the  steel 
used  by  the  railway,  both  for  equipment  and  for  track 
and  structures,  is  manufactured  and  where  the  boilers 
are  built  and  much  machine  and  erecting  work  is 
done. 

Manufactures  Most  of  the  Material  It  Uses 

Manufacturing  of  all  kinds  of  material  used  by  the 
railway  is  done  on  a  surprising  scale  at  Crewe.  The 
population  of  the  town  consists  almost  solely  of  the 
families  of  men  employed  in  the  railway  shops  and 
service  and  is  about  42,000.  As  examples  of  the 
extent  and  variety  of  these  manufactures  the  follow- 
ing may  be  mentioned:  Rivets,  steel  plates,  rails  and 
structural  shapes;  steel,  malleable  and  gray  iron, 
brass,  and  special  metal  castings;  galvanized  iron 
ware,  injectors  and  all  small  cab  fittings,  arch  and  fire 
brick,  common  brick  for  buildings  and  pavements,  til- 
ing and  terra  cotta  ware  for  all  purposes,  pottery, 
stone  for  masonry  paving,  and  even  grindstones.  Most 
of  the  small  hand  tools  and  even  the  machines  used  in 
the  works  are  made  by  the  railroad,  including  tool 
steel,  twist  drills,  big  hydraulic  presses,  planers,  etc. 
Many  ingenious  jigs  and  devices  are  also  used,  much 
attention  having  been  exercised  in  reducing  labor 
costs  to  a  minimum.  There  was,  for  instance,  a 
multiple  spindle  drill  for  flue  sheets;  a  template  was 
used,  thus  not  only  doing  the  work  rapidly  because 


BRITAIN  19 

of  the  several  spindles,  but  also  avoiding  the  laying 
off  of  each  separate  sheet.  Small  brass  work,  such  as 
couplings,  which  with  us  are  usually  chucked  in  a 
lathe  one  at  a  time,  are  here  done  several  at  a  time 
with  a  multiple  drill.  A  large  American  railway  shop 
could  profit  greatly  in  the  refinement  and  cheapening 
of  its  manufacturing  methods  by  a  close  and  detailed 
study  of  the  methods  that  have  been  developed  at 
Crewe. 

Not  only  does  the  company  manufacture  prac- 
tically everything  used  in  its  business,  to  the  extent 
of  having  no  scrap  for  sale,  but  it  also  carries  on  in 
connection  with  its  shops  and  the  town  of  Crewe  the 
activities  of  manufacturing  gas,  maintaining  the  en- 
tire water  supply,  and  building  and  renting  1,000 
houses  and  cottages  in  the  neighborhood  to  workmen. 

Attractive  Appearance  of   Locomotives 

Even  the  casual  traveler  is  much  impressed  by  the 
beautiful  appearance  of  a  British  locomotive.  The 
painting  of  these  locomotives  is  almost  a  fine  art,  four- 
teen coats  of  filler,  paint  and  varnish  being  applied 
to  the  jacket,  cab,  tender  and  wheel  covers.  Such  a 
painting  is  said  to  last  from  five  to  seven  years,  loco- 
motives not  being  repainted  at  every  shopping.  Be- 
neath the  jacket  is  a  thin  blanket  of  asbestos  fabric 
with  an  air  space  of  about  two  inches  next  to  the 
boiler  shell.  In  this  space  are  located  injector  pipes, 
etc.,  these  being  entirely  out  of  sight.  Sanding  is 
done  by  gravity  from  boxes  hung  beneath  the  run- 
ning boards,  and  not  from  a  central  sand  dome  located 
on  the  boiler  top.  There  is,  therefore,  on  the  top 
of  a  British  locomotive  only  the  one  steam  dome,  or 
at  most  this  dome  supplemented  by  a  small  pop  and 
whistle  dome.  No  bell  is  carried  and  a  small  signal 
light  takes  the  place  of  our  headlight.  The  result  is 


20  FOREIGN  RAILWAY  PRACTICE 

that  a  British  locomotive  has  most  pleasing  and 
simple  lines  and  attracts  the  attention  of  passengers 
at  stations.  It  may  be  said  to  have  architectural 
beauty  instead  of  being  undisguisedly  a  black,  greasy 
machine.  I  believe  that  if  American  railroads  would 
profit  by  the  British  example  in  making  a  locomotive 
of  more  pleasing  appearance  and  lines,  as  we  already 
do  with  regard  to  the  outside  appearance  of  our 
limited  trains,  such  a  move  could  not  help  but  have  a 
favorable  effect  upon  the  public  without  much  in- 
creasing the  expense  or  interfering  with  the  facility 
of  getting  at  working  parts. 

In  examining  the  detail  workmanship  it  was  found 
that  greater  care  was  exercised  in  doing  the  work 
than  in  the  States.  Not  alone  in  doing  the  machine 
and  fitting  work,  but  from  the  very  beginning  of  the 
forging  itself  the  various  steel  plates  and  metals  that 
go  into  the  construction  of  the  locomotives  are  care- 
fully inspected  and  tested.  After  they  are  forged  into 
their  respective  shapes  they  are  carefully  annealed  to 
eliminate  any  internal  structural  strains,  and  in  some 
special  cases  they  are  hardened  and  oil  treated  in 
addition.  This  heat  treatment  is  carried  to  a  much 
greater  extent  than  is  the  case  with  us.  I  understood 
that  owing  to  the  care  exercised  in  the  heat  treatment 
and  testing  of  rods  it  is  rare  to  have  an  engine  failure 
due  to  broken  side  or  connecting  rods,  or  other  motion 
work. 

Many  Drop  Forgings 

Noteworthy  is  the  extensive  use  made  of  mild  steel 
drop  forgings.  These  are  beautifully  made,  requiring 
very  little  material  to  be  removed  in  subsequent 
machine  operations.  This  process  gives  a  better  and 
more  uniform  quality  of  material  than  the  usual  open 
fire  hand  forgings  or  cast  steel  parts  used  in  America. 


BRITAIN  21 

Hangers  of  all  kinds  are  made  by  this  method,  and 
also  pistons  which  require  to  be  machined  only  for 
the  rod  fit,  the  cylinder  fit,  and  the  piston  ring 
grooves.  These  pistons  are  much  lighter  than  the 
heavy,  hollow,  cast  iron  ones  used  in  America,  their 
section  being  of  an  I-shape.  Of  course  the  cylinder 
heads  are  shaped  so  as  to  give  a  minimum  clearance. 

Boilers  and  Superheaters 

Boilers  are  made  of  steel,  but  the  fireboxes,  stay- 
bolts  and  back  flue  sheets  are  of  copper.  The  latter 
when  new  are  one  inch  thick.  It  was  the  practice  to 


Drop    Forge   Shop,   Crewe,   Showing    Some   of  the    Forgings. 

use  copper  flues,  but  I  am  told  this  is  being  grad- 
ually discontinued  on  new  power  and  steel  flues  are 
being  used  instead.  When  flues  are  safe-ended  it  is 
done  by  brazing,  and  not  by  welding.  The  ends  which 
are  brazed  are  scarfed  by  machine  instead  of  being 
swaged.  This  practice  is  also  followed  with  the 
copper  flues.  Back  heads  of  steel  have  the  flanges 


22  FOREIGN  RAILWAY  PRACTICE 

turned  outward  to  the  rear,  the  rivet  heads  thus  being 
outside  of  the  boiler.  A  calking  strip  is  placed  be- 
tween the  back  head  flange  and  the  shell.  The  front 
flue  sheet  of  steel  extends  downward  like  a  throat 
sheet,  and  is  bolted  to  the  cylinder  castings. 

Over  200  superheater  locomotives  of  the  Schmidt 
type  are  in  service  and  are  giving  satisfaction  both 
in  fuel  economy  and  in  maintenance,  very  little 
trouble  being  encountered  with  leaky  joints.  It  must 
be  added  that  the  enginemen  are  trained  to  be  very 
careful  in  the  operation  of  the  damper  so  as  not  to 
burn  out  the  steam  tubes  when  the  engine  is  standing. 

Locomotive  Frames  of  Slab  Form 

Locomotive  frames  are  universally  of  the  plate 
form  and  not  of  the  solid  bar  design  that  we  use. 
These  plates  are  substantial  deep  girders,  %  m-  to  1 
in.  thick,  heavily  reinforced  by  deep  cast  steel  trans- 
verse braces.  The  frame  jaws  are  also  reinforced  by 
the  riveting  on  of  an  extra  plate  and  I  was  struck  by 
the  generous  width  of  the  shoe  faces,  although  the 
axle  loads  are  about  half  of  those  found  in  American 
practice.  I  was  told  that  no  trouble  is  experienced 
with  the  breaking  of  frames.  The  advantages,  there- 
fore, of  the  plate  construction  seem  to  be  greater 
strength  for  a  less  weight  of  frame  and  the  elimina- 
tion of  breakages.  It  would  appear  from  the  trouble 
found  in  America  with  frame  breakage  that  it  would 
be  worth  while  to  experiment  with  plate  frames  which 
have  been  found  so  successful  in  British  railroad 
practice.  Further,  in  most  cases,  all  of  the  engines 
that  we  saw  were  of  the  inside  crank  type.  I  was 
told  that  these  inside  cranks  used  to  be  forged  in  one 
piece  out  of  the  solid  block,  but  in  later  years  it  had 
been  found  better  to  follow  the  built-up  practice.  I 
observed  an  additional  journal  bearing  placed  be- 


BRITAIN  23 

tween  the  two  inside  cranks  on  several  of  the  large 
engines,  this  journal  being  supported  by  a  longi- 
tudinal frame  member  bolted  to  two  of  the  heavy 
transverse  frame  braces.  In  this  way  any  serious 
damage  is  avoided  in  case  the  crank  axle  should 
break. 

Cylinders 

The  inside  cylinders  are  often  inclined  and  are  fitted 
with  slide  valves,  a  brass  metal  and  special  composi- 
tion being  used  for  the  slide;  piston  valves  are  also 
used  on  other  engines.  Modern  express  locomotives 
that  were  in  the  process  of  building  had  four  simple 
cylinders  of  the  same  diameter,  two  of  them  being 
outside  the  frames  and  each  cylinder  having  its  own 
piston  valve.  The  piston  valves  are  about  7  in.  in 
diameter  and  are  always  used  on  the  superheater 
locomotives. 

Light  Machinery,  Capacious  Boilers 

In  sum,  the  British  ideal  with  regard  to  locomo- 
tive design  and  structure  aims  at  the  most  useful, 
refined  and  scientific  distribution  of  the  very  re- 
stricted weights  of  metal  permissible  on  its  track  and 
bridges  and  within  its  clearances.  This  ideal,  I  later 
found,. had  influenced  in  marked  degree  Continental 
European  standards  and  practices.  The  efficient  dis- 
tribution of  weights  tends  toward: 

(1)  All  reciprocating  parts  of  the  strongest,  light- 
est materials  and  shapes. 

(2)  Revolving  parts  also  light. 

(3)  Frames  and  cylinders  strong,  to  resist  stresses 
without  useless  and  clumsy  sections. 

(4)  Use  of  the  weights  spared  from  the  machinery, 
in  providing  a  heavier  boiler  of  larger  steam  capacity. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  boiler  determines  the 


BRITAIN  25 

-power  of  the  locomotive,  and  this  power  in  turn 
affects  the  cost  of  train  operation,  it  is  evident  that 
the  weight  distribution  per  ton  of  driver  load  is  the 
logical,  proper  and  practical  goal.  That  this  goal  has 
been  successfully  attained  in  Europe  is  indicated  by 
the  greater  boiler  efficiency  of  European  locomotives 
tested  compared  with  those  of  American  construction. 


Polonceau  Sectional  Crown   Firebox." 


*Three  hundred  of  these,  made  of  copper,  are  in  use  on  the  Hungarian 
State  Railways.  No  crown  stays  or  bolts  are  required.  The  first  was  built 
30  years  ago  from  the  designs  of  Polonceau  (French  patent  No.  124069, 
April  25,  1878).  [Note:  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  J.  Snowden  Bell,  of  New 
York,  for  this  correction.]  They  are  used  in  a  bad  water  district  where 
the  staybolt,  crown  boiler  requires  washing  out  after  400  miles'  service, 
while  those  of  the  Polonceau  type  are  washed  out  after  7,500  miles'  service. 
The  sections  of  the  crown  being  unsupported  by  any  connection  to  the 
wrapper  are  shaped  like  rectangular  channels,  instead  of  with  a  pressure 
resisting  curve,  and  must  be  made  of  heavy  material.  Notwithstanding  this 
and  the  fact  that  the  ordinary  staybolt  side  sheets  are  joined  to  these  sec- 
tions by  a  seam  near  the  crown,  the  maintenance  cost  is  said  to  be  so  low 
as  to  outweigh  these  disadvantages. 


26  FOREIGN   RAILWAY  PRACTICE 

This  efficiency  is  a  practical  utility  with  the  growing 
importance  of  fuel  economy,  and  of  reducing  the 
amount  of  coal  needful  to  be  heaved  per  pound  of 
tractive  effort,  by  the  arms  and  back  of  a  single 
firemen.  In  no  special  respects  can  our  mechanical 
men  study  European  practice  with  greater  benefit  and 
profit  than  with  regard  to  weight  distribution  and 
boiler  capacity. 

Efficient  Test  Department 

Having  in  my  active  railroad  career  been  in  favor 
of  a  good  test  department  organization,  because  of 
its  influence  in  the  selection  of  good  materials  enter- 
ing into  railroad  equipment  and  construction,  I  was 
much  interested  in  the  organization  for  this  pur- 
pose maintained  by  the  London  &  North  Western. 
In  its  test  laboratory  about  40  men  work  in  two  shifts 
and  test  all  manner  of  material,  such  as  samples  from 
each  tire  heat,  from  each  rail  bloom,  spring  material, 
and  in  fact  all  of  the  metals  and  even  stones  and 
cement  which  are  used  on  a  railway. 

In  addition  to  these  men,  who  worked  in  a  beauti- 
fully appointed  laboratory  equipped  with  all  kinds 
of  testing  machines — many  of  them  built  at  the  shops 
— there  were  other  men  to  the  number  of  about  20 
making  mechanical  tests  and  inspection  of  other  ma- 
terials at  other  places  on  the  railway.  This  did  not 
include  the  timber  inspectors,  who  are  practical 
rather  than  technical  men.  For  a  railway  as  short 
as  the  London  &  North  Western  a  test  and  inspec- 
tion organization  of  some  60  men  is  a  goodly  number, 
and  indicates  the  great  importance  rightly  attached 
by  the  British  to  the  most  careful  selection  of  ma- 
terials entering  into  railroad  use.  As  a  result  of  this 
practice  instances  of  rail  breakage,  chipped  flanges  of 


BRITAIN  27 

wheels,  and  failure  of  locomotive  parts  are  conspicu- 
ously tare. 

Those  railways  that  have  instituted  similar  test  and 
inspection  departments  on  a  sufficiently  large  scale 
in  the  United  States,  and  have  provided  these  de- 
partments with  adequate  facilities  are  unquestionably 
upon  the  right  track,  and  will  render  invaluable  serv- 
ice in  improving  the  performance  of  our  physical 
equipment  and  structures. 

Men 

I  have  dwelt  at  some  length  upon  the  superior  ex- 
cellence of  British  materials,  and  the  workmanship 
and  organization  needful  to  produce  these.  A  study 
of  British  practice  in  this  respect  is  particularly  in- 
structive to  us  in  America,  because  it  gives  us  con- 
structive materials  from  which  to  build  better.  A 
critical  study  of  England's  railway  labor  is  also  pecul- 
iarly instructive;  it  is  regrettable  that  the  lessons  of 
such  a  study  are  not  also  constructive  for  us.  Rather 
may  American  railroad  men  and  managers  beware 
lest  we  follow  the  lead  of  English  precedent  in  labor 
conditions.  Our  British  cousins  may  serve  us  as  a 
warning  of  what  not  to  become ! 

In  ratio  to  the  cost  of  life's  elementary  necessities, 
British  railway  men  receive  very  low  wages — so  low 
that  they  do  not  and  cannot  enjoy  homes  as  spacious, 
modern,  clean  and  warm,  nor  so  much  food  and  meat, 
nor  children  so  well  clad,  shod  and  schooled,  as 
Americans  in  corresponding  employments.  The  un- 
rest begotten  of  this  condition  has  greatly  strength- 
ened the  solidarity  of  the  railway  unions,  which  are 
amalgamated  now  into  one  common  body,  having 
even  political  power  and  representation  in  Parlia- 
ment. This  union  (or  society)  has  protected  and 
somewhat  bettered  the  men.  It  is  therefore  a  pity 


23  FOREIGN  RAILWAY  PRACTICE 

that  it  should  have  also  followed  the  policy  of  re- 
stricting output,  of  insisting  upon  a  needless  number 
of  employees  in  certain  grades  (like  our  own  "full- 
crew"  and  second  fireman  demands),  and  of  dis- 
couraging such  treatment  of  employees  by  the  com- 
panies as  would  give  special  consideration  to  those 
individuals  whose  service  is  above  the  average  value. 
By  such  restrictions,  British  railway  performance, 
while  good,  lacks  much  of  being  as  economical  as  it 
might  be.  We  who  have  been  through  the  mill,  know 
only  too  well  how  essential  to  any  sustained  economy, 
is  the  willing  and  interested  co-operation  on  the  part 
of  the  men  actually  doing  the  work  and  using  the 
various  materials.  This  is  a  phase  of  the  railroad 
question  ignored  by  some  of  our  million-dollar-a-day 
efficiency-ists. 

Minor  Officials 

Though  the  aspect  of  English  railway  labor  is 
painful,  the  lot  of  those  in  official  grade  is  more  satis- 
fying. If  American  labor  is  more  happy,  better  paid, 
and  often  more  efficient,  yet  he  who  rises  in  rank  must 
frequently  do  so  at  a  financial  sacrifice,  that  is  felt 
the  more  because  salaries  do  not  respond  to  rising 
prices,  whereas  wages  do.  How  many  a  shop,  round- 
house, road  foreman,  or  yardmaster,  receives  less  pay 
than  the  more  expert  of  the  men  under  him?  How 
often  has  he  been  unable  to  secure  results,  because  of 
the  natural  attitude  of  such  men  that,  being  paid 
more,  they  are  worth  more,  and  know  more,  than 
the  boss?  And  as  higher  positions  are  reached— 
master  mechanics,  train-masters,  agents — and  ex- 
penses of  travel,  dress,  and  social  intercourse  with 
the  public  and  with  officialdom  are  added  in  measure 
not  contemplated  by  the  personal  expense-account 
permissible,  how  often  have  not  such  promotions 


BRITAIN  29 

turned  an  already  small  monthly  surplus  into  a  zero 
quantity?  What  profiteth  honor  if  a  man  shall  lose 
his  very  livelihood? 

Salaries 

Many  of  our  master  mechanics  get  no  more  than 
$200  a  month;  some  get  less.  Not  a  few  locomotive 
engineers  earn  more.  The  condition  is  anomalous.  If 
I  were  a  gifted  lawyer  and  wished  to  submit  a  brief 
on  the  relation  of  railroad  men  to  public  service,  I 
would  make  a  most  earnest  plea  on  behalf  of  the  minor 
official.  Consider  him  whom  ability  has  brought  to 
the  front  of  the  ranks,  and  who  represents  the  work 
and  the  needs  of  the  men  who  were  his  fellows.  Yet 
he  is  beneath  a  grindstone  of  responsibility  (to  the 
financial  management)  for  expenses.  He  may  not 
employ  an  additional  man,  nor  add  a  cent  to  a  wage; 
he  may  not  install  any  small  facility;  unless  he  secures 
authority.  Often  this  cannot  be  had.  His  is  an  un- 
enviable, a  thankless  lot,  with  a  future  neither 
assured,  nor  prosperous.  If  I  would  and  could 
be  a  reformer,  I  would  try  here  to  tear  another  leaf 
from  my  English  note-book,  for  they  surely  do  this 
thing  better  over  there — and  surely  it  will  effect  seri- 
ously the  proper  development  of  our  railways. 

Official  Residences 

I  have  mentioned  the  thousand  homes  and  cottages 
built  by  the  London  &  North  Western  for  its  em- 
ployees at  Crewe,  and  let  at  moderate  rentals.  This 
principle  is  carried  further.  Residences— official 
residences  they  might  be  called — are  provided  for  the 
principal  mechanical  officers,  and  for  those  in  charge 
of  various  departments  of  the  works  or  shops.  These 
houses  are  well-built,  are  maintained  in  excellent  re- 
pair, are  vety  convenient  to  both  the  shops  and  the 


30  FOREIGN   RAILWAY  PRACTICE 

station,  without  being  too  near  the  smoke  and  noise 
of  the  works  and  trains.  Their  outlook  is  upon 
foliage  and  flowers,  and  a  quiet  road — not  upon  shop 
sheds.  Withal  the  rental  is  quite  moderate — less  than 
inferior  accommodations  elsewhere  in  the  town.  This 
provides  a  means  of  bringing  the  official  families  to- 
gether, promoting  by  the  bonds  of  social  recreation 
and  visits,  a  more  harmonious  and  sympathetic  fellow- 
ship amongst  the  men  administering  the  London  & 
North  Western  works.  This  is  no  small  gain  in  an  or- 
ganization built  to  endure  from  generation  to 
generation. 

The  additional  benefits  of  lower  rents,  of  favorable 
gas  and  fuel  supply,  and  of  other  services,  make  the 
lot  of  these  residenters  an  agreeable  one.  Coupled 
with  these  advantageous  privileges  that  may  be  trans- 
lated into  a  money  value  of  from  $20  to  $50  per  month, 
are  salaries  rather  better  than  are  paid  in  correspond- 
ing grades  here,  and  proportionately  much  higher. 
It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  American  minor 
official — or  even  general  superintendent,  or  superin- 
tendent of  motive  power — should  receive  from  50 
per  cent,  to  100  per  cent,  more  than  at  present,  to  be 
on  the  same  plane,  in  comfort,  in  the  estimation  of 
the  directors,  and  in  the  estimation  of  the  public,  as 
their  British  compeers. 

Lessons  for  America 

Add  to  this  the  security  and  the  stability  of  the 
British  official  position,  contrasted  with  the  dissatis- 
faction and  shifting  of  American  officials,  and  our 
American  administrations  may  well  pause  long 
enough  to  take  thought  of  the  British  example.  If 
v/e  pursued  such  a  practice,  how  many  good  men 
could  we  not  hold  in  moderate  positions,  whom,  to 
hold  at  all  (from  entering  better-paid  commercial 


BRITAIN  31 

fields)  now,  we  must  transfer  and  promote,  just  as 
they  .begin  to  know  their  ground?  What  effect 
would  not  such  a  more  settled  policy  have  in  pro- 
moting better  understanding,  between  employed  and 
chief,  and  of  local  conditions  by  the  one  responsible 
for  meeting  them ! 


FRANCE 


Application    of    Power    Machinery   to    Roadway    Maintenance,    France. 


Ill 


FRANCE 

THE  Paris,  Lyons  &  Mediterranean  Railway  is  the 
largest  in  France,  having  over  6,000  miles  of 
line  and  operating  3,300  steam  locomotives,  273 
electric  vehicles,  18  steam  railway  motors,  7,000  pas- 
senger cars  and  97,000  freight  cars.  It  extends  south 
from  Paris  to  the  Mediterranean,  as  its  name  indi- 
cates, and  has  practically  a  monopoly  of  the  through 
traffic  of  all  central  and  south-eastern  France.  It  is 
larger  than  any  English  railway-aftdr4ras-threeLjniam. 
repair  shops,  the  principal  one  being  near  Lyons  and 
another  older  one  at  Paris.  I  had  an  opportunity  of 
visiting  the  latter.  ^^4- hearts o  much  of  the  small 
size  of  European  trains  and  locomotives  that 
much  surprised  to  find  in  the  service  of  the  Paris, 
Lyons  &  Mediterranean  Railway  some  modern  heavy 
express  locomotives  that  would  be  a  credit  in  weight 
and  capacity  to  almost  any  American  railway.  I  refer 
particularly  to  a  superheated  steam  Pacific  type  loco- 
motive that  was  undergoing  general  repairs  at  the 
Paris  shops. 

P.  L.  M.  Paris  Shops 

As  in  England,  there  is  a  departmental  organiza- 
tion with  a  mechanical  department  called  "equipment 
and  traction."  This  has  at  its  head  an  honorary  engi- 
neer-in-chief,  an  engineer-in-chief  and  an  assistant, 
besides  separate  officers  in  charge  respectively  of  loco- 
motives, cars,  and  electric  installations,  together  with 
three  shop  superintendents,  three  engineers  in  charge 
of  locomotive  operation,  including  roundhouses  and 

35 


36  FOREIGN   RAILWAY  PRACTICE 

enginemen,  besides  eight  district  men  subordinate  to 
these  three.  The  engineer-in-chief  has  a  further  staff, 
consisting  of  a  chief  clerk,  chief  accountant,  engineer- 
in-charge  of  outside  work,  chief  of  laboratory,  engi- 
neer of  tests,  engineer  in  charge  of  stores,  and  chief 
in  charge  of  fuel. 

The  Paris  shops  make  about  100  general  locomo- 
tive repairs  a  year  and  have  a  general  foreman  in 
charge,  as  in  America.  The  shop  equipment  is  not 
nearly  as  modern  as  at  Crewe,  England,  but  it  was 
explained  that  the  Paris  shops  were  shortly  to  be 
vacated  entirely  for  any  except  light  repairs,  and  that, 
therefore,  it  was  not  worth  while  to  put  in  any  modern 
machinery  and  tools.  It  was  rather  a  surprise  to  note 
in  the  main  machine  shop  an  engine  belted  to  the 
shafting,  with  an  1855  date  plate.  In  contrast  to  the 
old  and  slow  moving  machinery  were  the  modern 
emery  grinders  which  were  even  equipped  with  signs 
stating  to  what  speeds  the  wheels  should  be  tested, 
operated  and  at  what  diameters  they  should  be  re- 
moved. This,  of  course,  represents  the  best  practice. 

It  is  apparent  that  the  French  retain  machinery 
in  service  much  longer  than  is  practiced  with  us  or 
with  the  English,  and  beyond  the  time  when  it  should 
be  obsoleted. 

Speed  Recorders  Used  on  Locomotives 

This  is  all  the  more  surprising  because  of  the  great 
mechanical  ingenuity  of  the  French,  as  is  witnessed 
in  refinement  of  design  of  the  various  locomotive 
parts,  particularly  valve  arrangements.  Many  ex- 
amples of  such  ingenuity  I  was  particularly  impressed 
with,  including  the  speed-recording  device  which  is 
applied  apparently  to  all  express  locomotives.  I 
counted  forty  of  these  devices  under  repair  in  the  tool 
room  attached  to  the  Paris  shops.  The  application 


FRANCE  37 

of  these  speed-recorders  to  express  locomotives  is  un- 
doubtedly a  good  thing  and  should  find  greater  favor 
in  this  country.  Only  on  two  or  three  progressive 
American  roads,  that  I  know  of,  have  speed-recorders 
been  generally  introduced. 

Again,  in  France,  as  in  England,  I  was  impressed 
with  the  great  superiority  of  the  plate  frame  over  the 
bar  frame,  which  is  exclusively  used  in  America.  It 
seems  that  some  years  ago  ten  locomotives  with  bar 
frames  were  acquired  by  the  Paris,  Lyons  &  Mediter- 
ranean. All  of  these  frames  gave  trouble  by  con- 
tinued breaking  and  had  eventually  to  be  replaced  by 
plate  frames.  I  was  given  a  vivid  description  of  the 
sinuous  yielding  of  the  bar  frame  to  the  stresses  to 
which  the  locomotive  is  subjected;  the  deep  plate 
girders  are,  of  course,  absolutely  rigid.  The  plate 
frames  are  punched  out  for  the  frame  jaws  and  frame 
fittings  and  then  slotted  ten  at  a  time,  as  in  England. 
This  is  a  rather  slow  and  expensive  operation  which 
seems  destined  to  be  superseded  by  a  method  now 
adopted  in  some  of  the  locomotive  building  works, 
viz.,  of  cutting  the  frame  jaws,  etc.,  out  closely  to 
dimensions  with  the  oxy-acetylene  blowpipe.  There 
was  no  question  but  what  this  method  gives  a  reduc- 
tion in  the  cost  of  manufacture. 

French  Locomotives  Well  Balanced 

Many  of  the  smaller  and  older  locomotives  are  of 
the  inside  cylinder  crank  axle  type,  like  those  in  Eng- 
land. The  heavy  modern  express  locomotives  of 
eight-wheel,  Atlantic  and  Pacific  types,  usually  have 
four  cylinders  of  the  same  size,  if  simple;  the  inside 
cylinders  are  low  pressure,  if  compound.  The  newer 
passenger  locomotives  are  mostly  either  compound 
or  superheater  of  the  Schmidt  type. 


38  FOREIGN   RAILWAY  PRACTICE 

Cranked  Axles 

The  four-cylinder  arrangement,  whether  simple  or 
compound,  undoubtedly  gives  a  better  balanced  loco- 
motive and  to  this  question  of  mechanical  balance  the 
French  evidently  give  careful  attention.  For  the 
turning  of  the  journals  and  inside  crank  bearings  of 
the  cranked  axle  drivers  a  special  machine*  about  the 
size  of  a  quartering  machine  or  driving  wheel  lathe 
is  used.  This  is  massive  and  rigid  and  does  good 
work,  but  is  operated  very  slowly,  as  indeed  seems  to 
be  the  case  with  most  of  the  machines  I  saw  running. 

Balanced  Coach  Wheels 

The  passenger  car  journals  after  being  turned  are 
coated  with  oil  and  then  tied  up  with  straw  to  protect 
against  the  weather  and  against  being  burred  in  han- 
dling. I  was  favorably  impressed  with  the  very  accu- 
rate scale  on  which  all  passenger  car  wheels  are 
weighed  and  rotated  to  determine  their  balance.  Only 
750  grammes  (1.65  Ibs.)  eccentricity  of  weight  is  per- 
mitted in  a  pair  of  coach  wheels.  This  is  done,  I  was 
informed,  to  make  the  cars  smooth  running  and  avoid 
complaints  of  passengers.  In  this,  as  in  the  case  of 
speed-recorders,  we  might  do  well  to  tear  a  leaf  from 
European  experience.  While  slight  eccentricities  in 
coach  wheels  do  not  affect  our  heavy  car  construction 
to  the  extent  that  a  similar  eccentricity  would  affect 
the  light  cars  in  use  in  Europe,  for  the  balancing  of 
a  locomotive  some  such  device  should  undoubtedly 
be  used.  We  are  well  aware  that  many  an  epidemic 
of  rail  failures  is  due  to  improperly  balanced  engines. 

Track  and  Joints 

In  view  of  this  most  careful  attention  to  wheel 
balance,  to  avoid  car  vibration,  it  is  surprising  that 

*A  photograph,  and  a  drawing,  of  one  of  these  machines  appeared  on  page  218  of 
the  June,  1908,  issue  of  the  American  Engineer  and  Railroad  Journal,  in  an  article  on 
"The  Solution  of  the  Crank  Axle  Problem,"  by  H.  H.  Lanning.  The  article  showed 
also  an  American  machine,  developed  to  do  the  same  work,  by  the  writer. 


FRANCE  39 

the  ancient  order  of  rail-joints  still  persists.  These 
fish-plates  and  angle-bars,  while  longer  and  heavier 
than  those  of  Great  Britain  (having  six  instead  of 
four  bolts)  are  still  rather  light  for  the  track  stresses. 
This  fact,  coupled  with  the  practice  of  placing  the 
joints  of  both  rails  of  the  panel  opposite  each  other, 
causes  a  periodic  jolting  to  the  passenger  car,  very 
noticeable  if  one  is  sitting  over  one  of  the  wheels.  I 
have  been  unable  to  get  any  satisfactory  explanation 
of  this  opposite  placing  of  joints,  general  in  Europe, 
except  that  track  construction  and  renewal  is  made 
somewhat  easier.  It  should  be  explained  that  some 
of  the  important  lines  are  being  re-laid  with  alternate 
joints;  and  that  the  use  of  rail  about  45  feet  long  has 
reduced  the  number  of  joints,  and  would  seem  prac- 
tical for  American  use,  in  spite  of  our  extremes  of 
climate. 

Mechanically  Tamped  Track 

Also  mention  should  be  made  of  the  greater  rigidity 
of  screw-spike  track,  and  of  track  resting  upon 
ballast  mechanically  tamped.  In  France  machinery 
has  been  developed  to  do  this  work  more  cheaply 
even  than  their  low-wage  track  labor,  and  much  more 
reliably  and  solidly  than  is  possible  by  hand.  The 
illustrations  on  pages  34,  40  and  42,  exhibit  such 
machine  work. 

Quiet  Engines 

Among  other  refinements  of  locomotive  design  and 
operation  are  the  two-stage  air  pump,  the  air  cylin- 
ders being  arranged  as  a  steeple  compound,  the  uni- 
versal use  of  the  variable  nozzle  to  suit  the  sharpness 
of  the  draft  to  the  steam  demands  of  the  locomotive; 
and  the  cutting  down  of  wind  resistance  by  chang- 
ing the  shape  of  the  cab.  One  was  again  impressed 


Hand    Tamping    (to   solidity). 


Mechanical   Tamping    (40   seconds   per   cross-tie). 

Comparison    of    hand    and    mechanical    tamping    under    steel    ties    on    the 
Prussian  State   Railways   (near  the   Eystruys  Station,   province  of   Hanover). 


FRANCE  41 

with  the  care  exercised  annealing  and  heat  treating 
side  and  main  rods  and  all  reciprocating  parts;  and 
with  the  light  sections  of  the  pistons. 

All  of  this  careful  attention  to  the  mechanical 
balance  and  the  working  parts  of  the  locomotive  un- 
doubtedly contributes  to  the  wonderful  smoothness 
and  quietness  with  which  these  engines  run.  While 
standing  near  the  track,  an  express  train  came  by  at 
full  speed,  but  there  was  no  clanking  of  the  locomo- 
tive; more  slowly  there  moved  into  the  roundhouse 
one  of  the  big  Pacific  type  engines,  but  it  ran  with, 
the  softness  of  a  well-made  automobile,  there  being 
no  signs  of  rod  play  or  working  journals.  The  re- 
nowned quietness  with  which  trains  start  out  of  the 
stations  throughout  Europe  is  due  partly  to  this; 
smooth  working  of  the  locomotive,  as  well  as  to  the 
care  with  which  the  locomotive  is  handled  by  the 
engineer.  It  is  also  due  in  a  large  part  to  the  way  in 
which  trains  are  coupled  up.  The  coupling  principle 
is  quite  different  from  that  used  in  America,  the  right- 
and-left  hand  screw  coupling  being  universally  used.. 
This  coupling  seems  to  have  become  standard,  thus, 
permitting  interchange  of  equipment  over  all  lines; 
the  screw  coupling  is  also  used  on  freight  cars  on  the 
Continent  of  Europe,  while  the  link  and  hook  is  still! 
used  on  the  freight  cars  of  Great  Britain.  In  spite 
of  the  non-use  of  automatic  couplers,  there  are  rela- 
tively few  coupling  accidents. 

The  cars  on  a  passenger  train  are  coupled  together 
as  follows:  On  either  end  of  the  end  sills  of  the 
underframes  are  spring  buffers.  The  screw  coupling 
does  not  connect  to  the  car  through  any  spring.  The 
cars  are  thus  screwed  together  in  a  state  of  compres- 
sion against  these  spring  buffers  throughout  the 
length  of  the  train,  instead  of  being  in  a  state  of  ten- 
sion as  with  our  American  coupling.  With  the  very 


25 
5  5 

O 

£  « 


II 


11 


o>  £ 


=    C     O 

EatS 

ill 

•C     OJ    C 

8|8 


Ilf 

H 


O     C    _ 

218 

+J   re  ._ 

2  a 
o   p   x 


88" 


O  ra.2 
o  £* 


FRANCE  43 

light  equipment  this  principle  works  very  well  and 
there  is  not  the  familiar  taking-up  of  slack  in  the 
starting  of  a  train  that  we  experience  in  America. 

Autogenous  Welding 

The  Paris,  Lyons  &  Mediterranean  mechanical 
officials  have  given  the  subject  of  oxy-acetylene  weld- 
ing a  great  deal  of  careful  and  detail  study.  Wher- 
ever it  is  feasible  to  apply  the  process  economically 
it  has  been  developed.  The  seams  of  casings  of  all 
kinds  are  welded  together  instead  of  being  riveted; 
defective  and  worn  castings  are  filled  out  so  as  to  be 
usable;  crank  axles  are  repaired,  and  even  light  and 
heavy  parts  that  have  been  broken  are  welded 
together.  Similarly  the  oxy-acetylene  process  has 
been  used  to  a  large  extent  in  work  on  the  frames 
and  brake  rigging  of  cars.  As  at  Crewe,  in  England, 
I  found  that  the  practice  of  safe-ending  flues  was  to 
braze  the  ends  on;  in  the  last  year  this  practice  has 
been  discontinued  in  favor  of  oxy-acetylene  welding. 
The  safe  end  is  butted  to  the  flue  and  welded,  while 
turning  slowly  in  a  machine  like  a  flue  cutting-off 
machine.  I  was  told  that  this  gave  an  extremely  good 
weld  and  that  there  are  no  failures  in  flues  at  the 
weld,  the  weld  being  actually  stronger  than  the  rest 
of  the  flue.  My  observation,  both  of  the  manner  of 
actually  doing  the  weld,  and  of  the  finished  flues  con- 
firm this  information,  and  later  I  had  the  opportunity 
of  seeing  welded  flue  sections  at  the  Royal  Mechanical 
Institute  in  Cologne.  In  addition,  I  was  told  that 
great  savings  had  been  made  in  the  Paris  shops  in 
the  restoration  of  flues  wherever  they  had  pitted. 
The  process  was  to  clean  the  flues  by  thoroughly 
rattling  after  which  they  were  examined  for  any  pits 
and  cracks  and  these  were  filled  up  by  the  oxy-acety- 
lene welding  process. 


End   view  of  Collet  tamping    motors,  on  track,   showing   portability  of  appa- 
ratus.       A    gasoline-electric    generator    supplies    the    power. 


Application  of  electric  machinery  to  track  work  in  France.  The  portable 
tamping  bars  shown  above  have  been  laid  aside  to  permit  a  train  to  pass. 
Use  of  power  mechanisms  to  aid  this  class  of  labor  is  an  inevitable  advance 
that  Americans  must  adapt  from  modern  European  practice. 


FRANCE  45 

The  Serve  tube  is  in  quite  general  use.  These  are 
in.  inside  diameter,  and  are  provided  with  longi- 
tudinal ribs  or  flanges  extending  inward  radially  for 
about  YZ  in.,  there  being  about  6  or  7  such  ribs  in 
each  flue.  These  ribs  extend  lengthwise  parallel  to 
the  axis  of  the  flue,  and  are  not  spiralled;  the  advan- 
tage claimed  for  them  is  that  the  extra  metal  in  the 
flanges  takes  up  more  of  the  heat  as  the  gases  pass 
through  the  flues,  conducting  this  heat  to  the  flue 
walls  and  into  the  water  of  the  boiler,  thus  giving 
a  higher  rate  of  evaporation  per  square  foot  of  flue 
surface  than  the  plain  flues.  However,  I  am  informed 
that  the  actual  thermal  advantages  are  slight,  and 
that  the  construction  has  given  rise  to  practical  ob 
jections  in  the  way  of  the  flues  tending  to  clog  up 
easily  with  soot  and  cinders,  and  are  therefore 
more  expensive  to  clean  out  than  the  ordinary  tubes. 
The  theoretical  increase  in  evaporative  efficiency 
is  not  obtained,  and  the  higher  first  cost  is  not 
warranted. 

Copper  and  Brass  Used  Extensively 

Again,  as  in  England,  I  observed  the  use  of  copper 
for  fireboxes  and  staybolts.  I  was  informed  that  on 
the  newer  locomotives  a  fine  quality  of  manganese 
bronze  was  used  in  the  fireboxes  and  the  flue  sheets. 
The  large  fire  doors  are  divided  into  three  sections, 
only  one  of  which  is  swung  inwardly  and  upwardly 
at  a  time,  admitting  only  one-third  of  the  quantity 
of  cold  air  and  permitting  the  distribution  of  coal  (or 
briquettes)  to  the  right,  left  or  middle,  according  to 
the  section  of  door  used. 

Another  use  of  brass  unusual  in  America  was  in 
connection  with  the  jackets.  These  brass  parts  are 
not  polished  as  they  used  to  be  when  they  were  used 
on  American  railroads  in  the  days  of  red-painted 


46  FOREIGN   RAILWAY   PRACTICE 

driving  wheels  and  landscape-painted  tenders.  The 
French  jackets,  like  the  English,  are  carefully  painted, 
although  the  engines  do  not  present  the  harmonious 
simplicity  of  appearance  and  color  which  makes 
British  locomotives  famous. 

Method  of  Paying  Shop  Men 

Throughout  all  of  the  locomotive  repair  operations, 
although  the  men  are  guaranteed  their  day's  wages, 
the  pay  is  proportionate  to  the  amount  of  work  turned 
out,  this  practice  seeming  to  be  much  more  generally 
employed,  both  on  the  Paris,  Lyons  &  Mediterranean 
and  at  the  great  Crewe  shops  than  we  find  on  many 
American  railroads.  There  were  evidences  on  every 
hand  of  painstaking  and  careful  workmanship,  a 
workmanship  which  made  itself  felt  later  in  the  nice 
working  of  the  locomotive  and  in  the  enormous 
mileages  obtained  from  the  locomotives.  The  super- 
intendent of  the  Paris  shops  told  me  that  the  engines 
coming  to  him  for  repair  average  between  three  and 
four  hundred  thousand  kilometers  between  repairs. 
This  is  equivalent  to  over  200,000  miles,  and  is  a  most 
creditable  performance. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  mechanics  were 
working  under  a  stimulative  method  of  pay  their 
movements  seemed  to  be  very  listless  and  leisurely, 
compared  with  the  activity  of  the  American  or 
English  workers.  I  would  attribute  this  condition 
in  part  to  the  fact  that  smoking  was  permitted  while 
the  men  were  at  work.  Perhaps  also  the  influence  of 
the  form  of  trade  unionism  practiced  in  France  had 
a  restrictive  effect  on  output.  I  was  told  that  about 
one-third  of  the  men  were  organized,  although  the 
organization  did  not  have  any  agreement  with  the 
company  as  such,  but  was  secret  on  the  part  of  the 
men.  A  peculiar  form  of  trade  unionism  has  origi- 


FRANCE  47 

nated,  known  as  syndicalism.  The  belief  of.  the  syndi- 
calists is  that  each  industry  should  be  owned  and 
operated  by  the  workers  in  that  industry,  the  foremen 
and  other  officials  necessary  to  direct  the  operations 
being  elective  like  the  legislative  and  administrative 
bodies  of  a  municipal,  county  or  state  government. 
The  method  of  possible  compensation  to  the  present 
owners  of  these  industries  has  as  yet  not  found  a 
place  in  the  syndicalists'  programme. 

The  men  work  from  6:45  in  the  morning  to  11:45. 
After  \y2  hours  for  lunch  they  work  from  1:15  to 
6:15,  making  a  10-hour  day.  ,  The  clerical  forces  at 
the  shops  work  2  hours  less,  quitting  an  hour  earlier 
in  the  morning  and  also  in  the  afternoon.  The  men 
are  paid  in  cash  twice  a  month. 

Drink  Discouraged 

While  the  drinking  of  ales,  beers  and  light  wines 
is  general  among  all  classes  in  Europe,  there  seems 
to  be  in  France  a  resentment  against  excessive  thirst 
for  alcohol.  Preachments  against  alcoholism  are 
framed  upon  the  shop  walls. 

Engine  House  Design  Peculiar 

The  roundhouses  are  similar  to  those  in  America 
except  that  they  are  built  on  a  smaller  circle.  How- 
ever, the  entire  turntable  pit  is  covered  by  a  circular 
platform  that  turns  with  the  turntable.  This  prac- 
tice is  true  also  of  England,  and  has  the  advantage 
that  material  can  be  trucked  across  the  platform 
from  any  direction,  the  whole  space  between  the  rails 
and  the  radial  roundhouse  tracks  being  paved  so  that 
this  trucking  may  be  done.  The  covering  of  the  turn- 
table pit  will  further  appeal  to  anyone  who  has  had 
any  experience  in  running  a  roundhouse,  as  men 
often  fall  into  the  pit,  especially  at  night,  and  from 


48  FOREIGN   RAILWAY  PRACTICE 

the  point  of  view  of  safety  alone  the  expense  of  the 
covered  pit  would  seem  justifiable. 

In  another  respect  also,  these  French  roundhouses 
differ  from  those  in  the  United  States,  in  that  they 
are  roofed  over  completely  in  the  center.  Where 
good  smoke  jacks  are  used,  these  covered  round- 
houses are  quite  as  free  from  smoke  and  gases  as 
our  open  roundhouses,  and  give  much  greater  pro- 
tection to  the  men  in  the  winter  time,  although  the 
winters  in  France  are  not  nearly  so  severe  as  those 
experienced  by  our  northern  railways.  One  interest- 
ing feature  of  the  roundhouse  was  the  little  clock 
tower  surmounting  its  roof.  It  was  of  graceful, 
though  archaic  design,  and  showed  the  French  love 
for  architectural  embellishment  even  as  to  a  round- 
house. 


GERMANY 


IV 

GERMANY 

AMONG  all  the  countries  in  Europe,  the  traffic 
conditions  most  nearly  approximating  those 
of  the  United  States  are  found  in  Germany. 
The  methods  there  used  in  operating  and  handling 
locomotives  will  therefore  be  of  interest  to  American 
railway  officers.   German  passenger  and  freight  trains 
and  locomotives  are  heavier  than   those   commonly 
found    elsewhere    in    Europe,    and    while    the    most 
modern  of  the  express  and  heavy  freight  locomotives 
are  of  considerable  size  and  power,  compared  even 
with  American  standards,  their  weights  and  dimen- 
sions, of  course,  do  not  nearly  equal  those  found  in 
our  largest  locomotives,  the  primary  limitations  being 
the  axle  load  allowed  by  the  track  and  bridges  and 
the  clearance  limits  of  tunnels. 

Types  of  Locomotives 

The  use  of  freight  locomotives  without  a  leading 
truck  is  quite  common  practice,  but  not  to  the  extent 
prevailing  in  England  where  leading  trucks  are 
seldom  used  on  freight  locomotives.  Tank  locomo- 
tives are  frequently  used  in  both  freight  and  pas- 
senger service,  and  almost  universally  in  switching 
service.  An  example  of  the  types  of  locomotives  pre- 
vailing upon  a  dense  traffic  division  of  a  German  rail- 
road is  given  in  the  following  table : 

Type.  Service.  No.  of  Locos. 

0-4-0  (tank)  Switch  9 

2-4-0 Passenger    2 

0-6-0 Freight    14 

0-6-0  (tank)    Switch   23 

4-4-0  Fast  Passenger  , .     36 

51 


52  FOREIGN   RAILWAY   PRACTICE 

Type.  Service.  No.  of  Locos. 

2-4-2   (tank)    .............  Passenger    ................  7 

2-6-0    ....................  Passenger    ................  7 

2-6-0  ....................  Freight    ...................  25 

2-6-0  (tank)   .............  Passenger    ................  33 

0-8-0  ....................  Freight    ...................  15 


Total 


On  some  of  the  lines  with  heavy  grades  I  observed 
freight  engines  with  five  pairs  of  drivers,  but  with- 
out leading  or  trailing  trucks.  As  yet  very  few  articu- 
lated engines  of  the  Mallet  type  have  been  used  in 
Germany,  although  they  are  being  introduced  to  a 
certain  extent  in  Belgium,  Hungary  and  the  moun- 
tainous Balkan  regions.  The  principal  reasons  why 
such  locomotives  with  their  great  tractive  effort  are 
not  used  in  Germany  are  that  the  topography  is  gen- 
erally favorable  to  moderate  grades,  and  also  because 
of  the  limitations  placed  upon  train  length,  this  limit 
being  120  axles,  with  a  very  few  districts  where  150 
axles  can  be  employed.  Inasmuch  as  the  German 
freight  cars  have  a  rigid  wheel  base  with  only  two 
pairs  of  wheels,  two  German  cars  are  about  equal  in 
capacity  to  one  American  freight  car  with  its  two 
four-wheel  trucks,  and  we  may  consider  the  German 
limitation  as  to  train  length  as  equivalent  to  what 
would  be  a  limit  of  thirty  cars  with  us.  This  does 
not  take  into  account  the  much  greater  clearance  of 
our  cars  and  the  consequently  heavier  load  carried 
per  axle. 

Terminals 

The  handling  of  the  locomotives  at  a  terminal  has 
features  of  interest  to  Americans  and  offers  some 
contrasts  to  our  practice.  There  are  usually  two 
freight  yards  at  a  large  terminal.  Passenger  trains 
are  assembled  in  a  portion  of  these  yards.  One 
freight  yard  is  devoted  to  arriving  trains,  the  other 


GERMANY  53 

to  departing  trains,  both  being  worked  like  a  hump 
yard  in  America.  A  locomotive  is  supposed  to  enter 
upon  the  classification  tracks  itself  only  when  coup- 
ling on  to  its  train  to  depart.  This,  of  course,  les- 
sens the  shock  given  the  cars  as  they  come  together 
on  the  classification  tracks,  as  they  are  propelled 
only  by  the  gravity  of  a  light  grade  and  meet  end  on 
against  the  large  side  spring  buffers.  There  is  con- 
sequently very  much  less  damage  to  rolling  stock  on 
account  of  rough  handling  than  is  the  case  in  Amer- 
ica where  in  the  last  two  or  three  years  freight  car 
repairs  have  taken  the  first  place  away  from  locomo- 
tive fuel  as  the  principal  item  of  railroad  operating 
expense.  As  car  by  car  is  uncoupled  from  the  string 
of  cars,  and  allowed  to  drift  down  on  the  classifica- 
tion tracks,  a  head  switchman  calls  out  a  number 
which  another  switchman  marks  in  large  chalk  fig- 
ures upon  one  of  the  buffers.  These  numbers  can  be 
distinguished  easily  at  a  distance  of  200  feet.  The 
switch  tenders  are  provided  with  very  narrow  but 
quite  comfortable  shelter  houses  placed  conveniently 
between  the  tracks.  I  have  described  the  operation 
of  the  freight  yard  to  some  extent  because  the  han- 
dling of  the  yard,  as  well  as  of  the  roundhouse,  comes 
under  a  man  holding  the  title  of  "Ausfahrrangier- 
bahnof-Stationsvorstand,"  which  being  interpreted 
means  "General  Foreman  of  the  Out-going  Yard  and 
Engine  Terminal/' 

The  roundhouses  themselves  are  quite  similar  to 
those  in  America,  the  radius,  however,  being  smaller 
and  the  turntable  pits  usually  being  covered.  The 
turntables  are  generally  operated  by  hand.  I  did  not 
see  any  roundhouses  in  Germany  with  the  central 
portion  covered  over,  as  was  the  case  in  France. 
Practically  no  work  in  the  way  of  repairs  is  done  in 
the  roundhouses,  such  work  being  confined  to  the 


54  FOREIGN   RAILWAY  PRACTICE 

adjacent  shop  buildings,  the  roundhouses  serving  for 
inspection,  cleaning,  oiling,  etc.  In  the  roundhouses 
are  also  found  lockers  which  are  assigned  to  the  en- 
ginemen  and  in  which  they  keep  their  clothes,  tools, 
and  other  belongings. 

Crew's  Duties 

The  engineer  and  fireman  of  a  German  locomotive, 
although  their  duties  have  been  much  lightened  dur- 
ing the  past  ten  years,  still  give  great  attention  to  the 
maintenance  and  preparation  of  the  engine  and  also 
to  looking  after  it  at  the  end  of  a  trip.  The  engineer 
is  scheduled  to  be  at  his  engine  an  hour  before  the 
time  of  departure  of  the  train;  the  fireman  two 
hours  before.  The  fireman  builds  and  prepares  the 
fire  and  hostles  the  engine  until  it  is  taken  charge  of 
by  the  engineer.  The  engine  having  been  thoroughly 
oiled  and  any  necessary  supplies  provided  by  the 
engine  crew,  it  goes  direct  from  the  roundhouse  to 
its  train,  stopping  only  to  take  water.  At  the  end 
of  the  trip  the  engine  goes  first  to  the  coaling  plat- 
form, where  coal  is  loaded  on  by  a  gang  of  men 
especially  employed  for  the  purpose.  After  being- 
coaled  it  goes  to  the  ash  track,  and  there  the  fire- 
man cleans  the  fire.  The  engine  is  then  brought 
into  the  roundhouse  where  the  engineer  not  only 
makes  out  his  work  report,  but  attends  to  minor 
adjustments  himself.  It  is  not  the  practice  to  keep 
engines  under  steam  for  many  hours  in  the  round- 
house, this  being  done  only  where  a  very  large 
modern  locomotive  is  double  and,  occasionally,  treble 
crewed.  Engines  are  assigned,  not  pooled,  but  full 
service  is  gotten  out  of  the  larger  power  by  the  prac- 
tice of  double  crewing.  The  men  must  have  a  mini- 
mum of  eight  hours'  rest  after  a  run. 

Premiums  are  given  for  savings  in  oil  and  small 


GERMANY  55 

supplies,  although  the  room  for  economies  in  this 
direction  would  seem  to  be  less  than  exists  in  the 
United  States  because  of  the  very  thrifty  nature  of 
the  German  people.  It  was  surprising  to  learn  that 
the  German  authorities  should  take  the  trouble  to 
keep  the  necessary  records  for  the  payment  of  these 
small  premiums. 

The  fires  are  built  with  bundles  of  faggots  and 
small  bundles  of  kindling  impregnated  with  pine 
pitch.  Many  of  these  faggots  appear  to  have  been 
gathered  up  where  they  had  fallen  in  the  great  State 
Forests,  this  being  a  practical  application  of  the  prin- 
ciple of  conservation,  that  nothing  should  be  wasted 
• — wood,  otherwise  useless,  should  be  put  to  a  good 
purpose.  As  a  consequence  of  this  kind  of  policy, 
Germany's  annual  forest  growth  is  almost  equal  to 
her  annual  needs  for  timber. 

Fuel 

The  Germans  are  very  much  more  economical  in 
fuel  than  the  Americans,  as  the  following  compara- 
tive figures  on  fuel  consumption  per  locomotive  mile 
in  different  classes  of  service  would  indicate: 

Pounds  fuel  burned  per 

locomotive  mile. 

Class   of   service.  i —  — \ 

Prussian.     American. 

Passenger     43.6  93 

Freight    61.6  214 

Switch    44.8  147 

The  above  comparison  is  between  a  division  of  the  Prussian  State 
Railway  and  a  division  of  a  representative  American  road  in  a  sim- 
ilar industrial  locality. 

The  difficulty  of  mining  coal  in  Germany  makes 
it  a  much  more  expensive  commodity  than  it  is  in 
the  United  States,  and  the  Germans  have  not  such 
rich  deposits  of  good  coal.  The  Prussian  State 
Administration,  for  instance,  has  to  pay  about  $2.75 


56 


FOREIGN  RAILWAY  PRACTICE 


per  ton  of  2,000  Ibs.,  thus  making  economy  of  fuel 
in  their  railroad  operations  compared  with  cost  of 
other  items  (such  as  labor,  wages  being  about  half 
those  prevailing  in  the  United  States)  a  very  impor- 
tant consideration.  For  this  reason  great  care  is  used 
in  the  selection  of  the  grades  of  fuel  burned,  in  the 
utilization  of  the  poorer  grades  for  locomotive  pur- 
poses, in  the  heat  efficiency  of  the  design  of  the  loco- 


Coal  is  shoveled  from  cars  to  the  ground;  and  is  re-shoveled  into  small 
tram  cars  which  are  hoisted  by  elevator  to  the  coaling  platform,  from  which 
they  are  dumped  into  the  locomotive  tenders. 

Typical    Modern    European    Concrete-Steel    Coaling   Station. 


motive,  and  in  the  care  with  which  the  locomotive  is 
operated. 

Germany  was  the  birthplace,  about  1895,  of  the 
Schmidt  locomotive  superheater,  and  from  about 
1901  on,  after  the  preliminary  experimental  stages 
with  this  device,  its  application  to  old  as  well  as  new- 
locomotives  took  on  enormous  strides,  so  that  today, 
of  the  some  20,000  locomotives  belonging  to  the 


GERMANY  57 

Prussian  State  Railways,  about  5,000  are  equipped 
with  superheaters. 

From  the  poorest  qualities  of  coal,  called  "brown 
coal,"  a  shaley  stuff  between  lignite  and  peat, 
briquets  are  made  having  a  very  high  fuel  value. 
These  briquets  are  used  where  it  is  desired  to  avoid 
smoke,  as  through  passenger  terminals,  and  also 
when  it  is  desired  to  give  the  engine  additional 
evaporative  efficiency — as  on  starting  a  train  and  in 
climbing  a  steep  grade.  About  25  per  cent,  of  the 
fuel  burned  on  Prussian  locomotives  is  in  briquet 
form,  and  the  storage  coal  that  is  kept  through  the 
winter  season  and  to  guard  against  irregularities  in 
mining  and  commercial  demands,  is  largely  in 
briquet  form  also,  these  briquets  being  very  con- 
veniently piled  as  we  wrould  pile  bricks. 

Engineers  and  firemen  are  also  carefully  trained 
as  to  fuel  and  steam  use,  and  with  the  assigned  en- 
gines the  men  act  as  if  they  were  footing  the  fuel 
bills  themselves.  This,  taken  in  conjunction  with 
the  eagle-eyed  watchfulness  of  the  fuel  performance 
of  each  train  by  the  railway  administrative  officials, 
makes  for  an  astounding  degree  of  efficiency,  and  is 
in  a  large  measure  responsible  for  the  comparatively 
low  fuel  consumption  shown  in  the  figures  above 
quoted.  In  these  figures  there  is,  of  course,  no  indi- 
cation of  the  relative  amount  of  work  done  by  the 
locomotives,  nor  of  their  size.  It  may  be  presumed 
that  the  American  locomotives  would  require  about 
twice  as  much  coal  as  the  German  locomotives.  Even 
allowing  so  great  a  margin — which  is  high,  as  the 
German  locomotives  are  the  largest  in  Europe — the 
discrepancy  between  the  consumption  in  the  two 
cases  is  very  marked;  and  in  view  of  the  millions  of 
dollars  expended  annually  by  every  American  rail- 
road system  for  fuel,  would  warrant  a  most  careful 


58  FOREIGN   RAILWAY   PRACTICE 

study  as  to  causes  and  results,  combined  with  an 
equal  thoroughness  in  applying  such  practices  as 
would  be  of  benefit  to  American  operating  con- 
ditions. 

One  of  the  most  modern  coaling  stations  that  I 
saw  in  Germany,  not  yet  entirely  completed,  handled 
the  coal  in  the  following  manner.  Upon  either  side 
of  a  double  track  was  a  concrete  wall  or  parapet,  the 
level  of  the  platform  at  the  top  of  this  wall  being 
several  feet  above  the  top  of  the  locomotive  tender. 
The  edge  of  the  platform  was  bordered  by  a  pipe 
railing,  broken  at  intervals  by  small  automatic  chutes. 
About  twenty  feet  back  from  the  edge  of  the  parapet 
was  a  pile  of  coal  which  was  shoveled  by  hand  from 
cars  of  the  gondola  type,  whose  sides,  however, 
swung  out  somewhat  like  the  sides  of  ballast  cars, 
thus  reducing  the  amount  of  hand  shoveling  required. 
Several  laborers  shoveled  the  coal  from  this  storage 
pile  into  little  hopper  trucks  of  about  half  a  ton 
capacity,  which  were  then  pushed  by  hand  along  a 
narrow  gage  track  to  the  automatic  chutes  through 
which  the  contents  were  dumped  into  the  tender  of 
the  waiting  engine  by  pressure  upon  a  single  lever. 
The  whole  procedure  worked  with  neatness  and  des- 
patch, and  a  close  record  was  kept  of  the  amount  of 
coal  supplied  to  each  locomotive.  At  the  older  coal- 
ing stations  at  smaller  places  the  platforms  are  quite 
low  and  the  coal  was  shoveled  into  straw  baskets 
holding  about  100  to  200  Ibs.  each  which  were  lifted 
up  by  hand  and  dumped  into  the  tenders.  Finally, 
in  connection  with  the  fuel,  it  was  observed  that  the 
practice  of  storing  large  quantities  of  coal,  and  par- 
ticulirly  briquets,  was  quite  general.  The  sanding 
of  tht  locomotives  was  done  in  the  roundhouse  by  a 
man  who  carried  the  sand  around  from  engine  to 
engine  in  a  wheel-barrow. 


GERMANY  59 

Pay  and  Living 

While  the  wages  generally  among  the  railroad 
employees  in  Germany  are  low  compared  with  our 
standards,  some  of  the  ordinary  laborers  getting  as 
little  as  about  70  cents  a  day,  the  comfort  and  well- 
being  of  the  men  and  their  families  are  well  looked 
after,  it  being  customary  to  provide  what  are  called 
"living  colonies"  where  modern  houses  are  provided 
at  a  considerably  lower  cost  than  the  men  could  find 
elsewhere.  These  "colonies"  are  located  with  con- 
venient access  to  the  workshops  or  terminal  yards 
where  the  men  are  employed,  and  are  for  the  benefit 
of  the  men  in  train  service,  as  well  as  for  those  sta- 
tioned at  the  terminal.  A  visit  through  one  of  them 
gave  somewhat  the  same  impression  as  a  visit  through 
a  college  dormitory,  so  neat,  orderly  and  well  kept 
were  they. 

Not  only  are  the  ordinary  employees  provided  with 
dwellings  at  low  cost,  but  this  is  also  done  for  the 
officers  in  direct  charge  of  the  terminal  yards.  These 
have  their  dwelling  rooms  on  the  upper  floors  of  the 
handsome  buildings  that  house  the  offices  on  the 
ground  floors,  and  the  group  of  buildings  composing 
these  combined  offices  and  dwellings  with  their  sur- 
rounding flower  and  vegetable  gardens  are  located  a 
short  distance  from  the  yard  and  roundhouse.  As 
an  indication  of  the  way  in  which  the  general  fore- 
man of  such  a  terminal  is  provided  for,  it  may  be 
said  that  at  a  place  despatching  over  150  trains  a  day 
the  man  in  this  position  receives  a  salary  of  6,000 
marks,  or  $1,500  annually,  and  in  addition  is  provided 
with  ample  living  quarters  for  which  a  rental  of  $100 
a  year  is  charged.  One  of  these  foremen,  after  show- 
ing me  his  quarters,  assured  me  that  he  could  not  do 
as  well  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city  for  $25  a  month. 


GERMANY  61 

This  makes  his  salary  equivalent  to  about  $140  a 
month. 

Not  only  is  the  employee  of  the  German  State 
Railroad  well  looked  after  during  his  life  of  activity 
and  health,  but  he  is  taken  care  of  during  times  of 
illness,  accident  and  in  his  old  age,  the  whole  scheme 
being  worked  out  in  a  scientific  manner  so  that  the 
man  can  devote  his  life  with  entire  confidence  to  his 
chosen  profession  of  railroading,  secure  in  the  knowl- 
edge that  he  cannot  be  discharged  or  demoted  with- 
out proceedings  similar  to  a  court  trial  in  the  army 
or  navy;  secure  also  in  a  certain  minimum  increase 
in  wages  with  the  completion  of  each  period  of 
service. 

In  discussing  railroad  practices  with  several  of  the 
officials  of  the  Prussian  State  Railroad  System  in 
Berlin,  I  was  invited  to  spend  a  day  in  the  technical 
and  historical  railway  museum,  for  which  a  large 
building  has  been  erected  in  a  convenient  location 
in  Berlin. 

Teuton  Thoroughness 

Before  proceeding  with  an  account  of  this  most 
instructive  visit,  I  should  like  to  state  that,  while  in 
railroad  operations,  as  well  as  in  other  industrial  or- 
ganizations, we  in  America  have  much  of  immediate 
and  practical  benefit  to  learn  from  the  German 
methods  of  training  and  thoroughness  of  investiga- 
tion, there  are  many  machine  tools  in  European  man- 
ufacturing establishments  that  had  been  imported 
from  America,  and  our  country  undoubtedly  ranks 
very  high  when  it  comes  to  standardization  of  pro- 
duction and  production  machinery.  One  of  the  chief 
engineers  of  one  of  the  largest  manufacturing  con- 
cerns stated  that  nowhere  could  his  company  find 
the  equal  of  American  automatic  machinery.  The- 


62  FOREIGN  RAILWAY   PRACTICE 

feeling  persists,  however,  that  we  are  frequently  apt 
to  develop  a  new  machine,  design,  or  device  on  an 
extensive  scale  without  being  sufficiently  sure  either 
of  the  correctness  of  the  principles  on  which  the  de- 
parture from  existing  practice  is  based,  or  of  the  care 
with  which  details  have  been  worked  out  practically. 
The  German  procedure  after  the  discovery  or  inven- 
tion of  a  new  idea,  or  change  from  existing  practice, 
is  first  to  examine  the  new  practice  in  the  light  of  all 
of  its  theoretical  bearings,  working  out  the  apparent 
limitations  of  the  new  idea  in  all  directions.  This 
theoretical  study  is  followed  by  an  equally  exhaustive 
-series  of  test  constructions  which  are  thoroughly  tried 
out  under  laboratory  conditions  with  the  most  pains- 
taking record  of  performance.  Only  as  a  result  of 
this  thorough  and  intense  study  on  the  part  of  the 
iDest  trained  minds  is  an  application  made  of  the  new 
idea  on  a  practical  scale  in  collaboration  with  men  of 
.sound  practical  experience. 

Berlin  Railway  Museum 

Probably  no  more  striking  example  of  this  German 
.method  of  thoroughness  and  of  their  appreciation 
•oi  the  value  of  adequate  instruction  can  be  found 
than  in  the  official  railway  museum.  Here  is  located 
.as  complete  a  collection  as  exists,  even  in  part,  in  all 
the  rest  of  the  world,  showing  the  historical  develop- 
ment of  all  parts  of  the  railway,  of  its  organization, 
personnel,  and  benevolent  institutions,  as  well  as  of 
its  physical  attributes,  such  as  track  and  track  details, 
cars,  locomotives,  shops,  and  stations. 

Besides  these  historical  exhibits,  which  are  placed 
in  such  an  order  that  one  can  follow  the  gradual  de- 
velopment from  the  earliest  forms  to  the  most 
modern,  there  is  also  a  most  complete  collection  of 
everything  representing  present-day  practice.  The 


GERMANY  63 

exhibit  includes  a  large  number  of  examples  of  rail, 
axle.  2nd  wheel  breakages,  boiler  explosions,  and 
other  causes  of  accident  or  failure  in  railroad  opera- 
tion, constituting  a  permanent  and  growing  study  of 
cause  and  effect,  so  that  the  future  may  learn  from 
the  past  what  mistakes  to  avoid. 

Very  complete  models  of  the  best  locomotive  and 
car-repair  shops  were  on  exhibition.  Each  of  these 
models  covered  a  considerable  area  and  was  complete 
in  showing  the  materials  and  design  of  the  building 
structure,  of  the  shop  layout,  of  the  method  of  rout- 
ing the  work  through  the  shop,  showing  also  the  new 
machines,  such  as  lathes,  planers  and  cranes  in  the 
shop.  Many  of  the  models  could  be  set  in  operation. 
For  instance,  a  complete  operation  of  putting  a  wheel 
in  the  wheel  lathe,  turning  it  and  then  handling  it 
again  with  the  crane  would  work  itself  out  auto- 
matically in  this  model,  so  that  those  not  familiar 
with  shop  practice,  or  others,  could  come  to  this 
museum  and  see  in  miniature  the  complete  operation. 
Ocular  and  physical  demonstration  on  a  three-dimen- 
sion scale  was  here  substituted  for  a  mere  written 
or  printed  description,  or  even  photographic  repre- 
sentation, as  a  method  of  instruction  which  would 
leave  a  more  complete  and  lasting  impression.  As 
another  example,  a  cross-section  of  a  modern  rail- 
way storehouse  was  shown,  with  all  of  the  materials, 
in  miniature,  in  their  allotted  places,  and  little  pup- 
pets representing  the  store  clerks  receiving  and  filling 
the  orders  from  the  shop.  Of  course,  a  bird's-eye 
view  of  such  a  storehouse,  shop,  terminal  station, 
yard,  or  engine  house,  many  of  them  in  actual  move- 
ment, is  much  more  readily  gra'sped  in  a  short  time 
than  it  would  be  in  a  trip  of  several  hours  over  the 
full-size  actual  plant. 

The  instructive  nature  of  these  models  did  not  end 


64  FOREIGN  RAILWAY  PRACTICE 

with  those  who  might  see  them  in  the  museum,  but 
fulfilled  a  similar  function  when  the  models  them- 
selves were  being  made.  The  making  of  the  models 
is  very  largely  carried  out  by  the  apprentices  in  the 
shops,  who  from  the  building  of  the  models  must,  of 
course,  learn  much  of  the  nature  of  the  subject  they 
are  working  on.  A  better  method  of  instruction  in 
the  most  careful  use  of  tools,  appreciation  of  niceties 
of  design,  stimulation  of  pride  in  the  workmanship 
of  the  finished  product,  and  instruction  in  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  various  aspects  of  railroad  operation 
could  hardly  be  devised  for  an  apprentice. 

Some  of  the  models,  both  of  locomotives  and  of 
machines,  were  supplied  by  the  big  manufacturing 
firms  who  engage  in  these  branches  of  business,  and 
served  as  an  advertisement  of  the  excellences  of  their 
products  as  well  as  being  most  useful  to  the  student 
of  the  existing  types  of  machines  and  equipment. 

Utility 

Similar  museums  are  maintained  at  Nuremberg 
and  Munich  in  Bavaria,  the  great  museum  at  Berlin 
representing  only  the  Prussian  State  Railway  Ad- 
ministration, the  largest  railway  system  in  the  world. 
It  is  well  known  that  in  the  past  twenty  years  Ger- 
many has  made  tremendous  strides  industrially,  rank- 
ing today  among  the  leading  manufacturing  and 
commercial  nations.  This  enviable  position  has  been 
won  through  the  natural  frugality  and  the  careful, 
saving  disposition  of  the  German,  applying  in  his 
manufacturing  industries  the  principle  of  converting 
wastes  into  profitable  by-products.  The  German  is 
not  at  all  given  to  extravagant  and  useless  show,  and 
these  museums  are  not  exhibits  on  which  large  sums 
have  been  spent  in  the  mere  pride  of  past  achieve- 
ment. Thev  have  been  instituted  with  the  idea  that 


GERMANY  65 

their  instructive  character  would  have  a  practical 
effect  on  the  understanding  and  esprit  de  corps  of  all 
classes  af  railway  employees  and  officials,  far  out- 
weighing the  comparatively  trifling  expenditure  of 
money  for  this  purpose. 

A  Museum  for  America 

This  practice,  for  instance,  would  seem  to  furnish 
an  object  lesson  to  American  railway  men  and  rail- 
way supply  manufacturers,  whereby,  through  co- 
operation, a  similarly  instructive,  permanent  exhibit, 
of  value  alike  to  the  railway  men  and  the  manufac- 
turers, could  be  established.  Of  course,  we  already 
have  had  for  many  years  our  Master  Mechanic's  and 
Maintenance  of  Way  convention  exhibits  where  the 
latest  developments  have  been  shown  in  full  size. 
The  expense  not  only  of  the  preparation  of  these  ex- 
hibition devices  but  of  their  shipment  to  the  place  of 
exhibit  and  back  again,  and  the  number  of  demon- 
strators required  to  explain  the  advantages  of  the 
new  development,  has  amounted  to  a  considerable 
amount  of  money  annually,  and,  as  stated  before, 
these  full  size  objects  are  not  always  so  readily 
grasped,  nor  can  the  ground  required  to  show  them  be 
covered  so  readily  as  would  be  the  case  if  small  but 
carefully  made  models  were  in  most  cases  used.  This 
is  particularly  true  in  the  case  of  big  machines,  cars, 
cranes,  building  fixtures,  etc.  Small  objects  like  tie 
plates,  metallic  packing  for  locomotives,  can,  of 
course,  be  shown  usually  in  full  size.  To  some  extent 
an  effort  is  being  made  to  create  a  permanent  railway 
exhibit  in  the  Karpen  building,  in  Chicago,  but  the 
railroads  have  no  official  connection  with  this  enter- 
prise and  it  has  a  purely  commercial  character. 


HUNGARY 


V 


HUNGARY 

THE  motive  power  and  rolling  stock  of  the  Hun- 
garian State  Lines  is  cared  for  in  two  large 
central  manufacturing  and  repair  shops  located 
at  Budapest  and  at  fifteen  independent  division  shops. 
Manufacturing  of  standard  locomotive  and  car  parts 
and  tools  is  carried  on,  on  a  large  scale,  in  the  main 
shops  at  Budapest. 

New  Equipment 

New  locomotives  are  built  by  a  separate  locomo- 
tive works,  a  private  concern  that  the  government 
took  over  and  that  has  a  rather  interesting  history. 
The  Hungarians  were  for  so  many  centuries  a  buffer 
people  between  the  invading  Moslem  hordes  and 
Christian  Europe  that  through  the  tribulations  of 
relentless  conflict  they  have  developed  the  strongest 
kind  of  self-reliant  patriotism.  In  more  modern  times 
with  the  development  of  peaceful  pursuits  this  same 
spirit  of  martial  self-reliance  has  shown  itself  in 
workaday  life.  Instead  of  depending  on  the  alien  for 
manufactured  products,  such  as  railroad  and  agricul- 
tural machinery,  the  people  established  works  of  their 
own,  and  one  of  these  large  manufacturing  works 
devoted  itself  to  the  building  of  locomotives  (orders 
being  placed  by  the  State  Railway  Lines  as  well  as 
by  the  private  railroad  companies  in  Hungary)  and 
also  to  the  construction  of  agricultural  machinery. 
When,  in  the  course  of  time,  this  concern  got  into 
financial  difficulties  the  government,  rather  than  see 
this  business  get  into  the  hands  of  foreigners,  took 

69 


HUNGARY  71 

over  the  works,  so  that  today  practically  all  the  loco-- 
motives and  agricultural  machinery  used  in  Hungary 
are  manufactured  by  this  government  works,  keeping 
the  industry  at  home  and  furnishing  work  for  Hun- 
garian subjects. 

These  locomotive  building  works  are  entirely  in- 
dependent of  the  Railway  Administration,  the  latter 
concerning  itself  merely  with  the  repair  of  its  equip- 
ment. Cars  are  built  by  another  large  independent 
works,  appertaining  to  Ganz  &  Co. 

Equipment  Repairs 

At  the  central  repair  and  manufacturing  shops  of 
the  State  Railway  at  Budapest,  which  come  directly 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  director  of  motive  power 
and  rolling  stock,  is  made  only  the  heaviest  class  of 
repairs.  The  division  shops  come  under  the  divi- 
sion operating  officers,  and  at  some  of  the  larger  of 
these  also  such  heavy  work  as  firebox  replacement 
is  done,  although  practically  no  manufacturing  of 
new  parts  is  done  at  any  of  these  outlying  shops. 

In  those  fifteen  division  shops  are  the  following 
aggregate  facilities  for  the  repair  of  equipment: 

Locomotive  pits    537 

Boiler  shop  pits   69 

Passenger  car  pits  1,413 

Passenger  painting  shop  pits 207 

These  facilities  take  care  of  the  following  equip- 
ment: 

Locomotives    3,430 

Passenger  cars   7,448 

Baggage  cars,  etc 2,500 

Freight    cars 82,086 

The  force  which  handles  this  work  is  as  follows : 

Engineer  inspectors   120 

Foremen    234 

Assistants    255 

Workmen    10,183 


HUNGARY  73 

Engineer  Inspectors 

A  word  of  explanation  is  required  as  to  the  status 
of  the  engineer  inspectors.  These  are  men  of  the  best 
technical  training  who  have  served  four  years  in  prac- 
tical shop  work.  They  report  to  the  highest  officers 
of  the  division  to  which  they  are  assigned,  being, 
therefore,  independent  of  the  local  shop  administra- 
tion. The  function  of  these  men  is  to  exercise  the 
closest  supervision  and  control  over  the  quality  and 
costs  of  doing  the  work  and  to  be  instrumental  in 
correcting  methods  where  either  the  cost  or  the 
quality  of  the  work  is  not  up  to  standard. 

For  instance,  when  a  locomotive  enters  a  shop 
the  engineer  inspector  prescribes  precisely  what  work 
should  be  done,  there  being  already  in  effect  standard 
schedules  for  the  cost,  the  routing  and  the  doing  of 
each  item  of  work.  Departures  are  not  made  from 
the  prescription  of  this  engineer  inspector  without 
his  authority.  This  supervision  at  the  initial  stage 
of  the  locomotive  repair  extends  not  only  to  the  cost 
of  doing  the  work,  but  is  also  concerned  with  the 
costs  of  the  materials,  the  engineer  preparing  a  de- 
tailed bill  of  material,  whether  the  parts  are  to  be  re- 
paired or  new,  to  accompany  his  schedule  of  the  work 
to  be  done.  In  this  way  the  material  costs  are  held 
down  to  the  lowest  figure  which  necessity  demands. 
After  getting  the  repairs  on  the  locomotive  well 
under  way  the  engineer  inspector  follows  up  the  work 
actually  done  in  the  shop,  inspects  its  condition,  sees 
that  one  gang  does  not  hold  another  one  back,  sees 
that  work  is  done  within  the  standard  cost,  but  is  not 
slighted,  and  sees  that  the  engine  is  returned  to  serv- 
ice as  per  the  schedule  before  it  was  taken  out  of 
service. 

A  similar  system  upon  a  smaller  scale  obtains  in 
roundhouse  management,  and  due  to  the  care  that  is 


HUNGARY  75 

exercised,  both  in  general  and  in  running  repairs,  en- 
gine failures  are  almost  unknown.  I  must  say  that 
I  find  this  condition  of  absolute  reliability  in  the 
operation  of  the  locomotives  surprising  in  the  ex- 
treme. There  is,  however,  a  source  of  satisfaction  in 
knowing  that  it  is  possible,  with  proper  organization 
of  working  forces,  to  obtain  such  perfection  in  loco- 
motive running  and  upkeep.  Some  of  these  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  engineer  inspectors  are,  of  course, 
allotted  to  supervision  of  car  work,  on  the  average 
about  one  hundred  workmen  coming  under  the 
purview  of  one  engineer. 

Working  Conditions 

The  average  ten  hour  days  worked  per  month  by 
the  shop  forces  is  24.5.  The  average  earnings  per 
day  are  about  $1.40  for  all  classes  of  labor.  This 
figure  must  not  be  compared  with  American  shop- 
men's wages,  for  the  reason  that  living  and  compara- 
tive wage  conditions  in  Europe  are  so  different  from 
those  obtaining  in  the  United  States.  Also*  it  must 
be  emphasized  that  the  conditions  are  better  for  the 
men  in  the  way  of  dwelling  quarters  provided  at  very 
low  rents,  and  in  the  way  of  the  provident  and  wel- 
fare institutions  which  care  for  the  needs  of  the  men 
and  their  families,  both  in  active  service  and  in  old 
age.  It  is  worth  something  to  a  man  to' be  secure  in 
reasonable  earnings  for  the  present  and  for  his  de- 
clining years  when  he  gives  up  active  service. 

Performance  Schedules 

We  spoke  of  the  schedules  of  doing  work  in  the 
shop.  In  conjunction  with  these  shop  schedules  are 
similar  standard  schedules  of  the  performance  of  the 
equipment  in  service.  A  locomotive  or  a  car  is  not 
due  to  receive  general  repairs  until  it  has  performed 


HUNGARY  77 

this  service.     Below  are  listed  these  standards  of  per- 
formance: 

Between  shoppings. 

Passenger   locomotives    56,000  miles 

Freight   locomotives    37,000  miles 

Old  locomotives  of  the  second  class 28,000  miles 

Old  locomotives  of  the  third  class 19,000  miles 

It  should  be  explained  that  locomotives  are  classi- 
fied according  to  age,  and  that  the  same  treatment 
as  to  policy  of  repairs  is  not  accorded  to  the  older 
locomotives  as  is  accorded  to  the  newer  ones.  This 
division  into  grades  according  to  age  could  very  well 
be  adopted  as  an  American  practice. 

Below  are  statistics  as  to  the  locomotive  perform- 
ance for  the  3,500  locomotives  of  the  Hungarian  State 
Lines,  for  the  year  1911: 

Total  coal  consumption  for  the  year 3,580,000  tons 

Thousand  ton-miles  run    20,300,000 

Price  per  ton  of  coal $1.48 

Coal  consumed  per  thousand  ton-miles. . . .  350  Ibs. 

Cost  per  thousand  ton-miles  $0.27 

Average  locomotive  miles  run  per  year: 

1st   Class  engines    27,000 

2nd    Class   engines    23,000 

Car  Repairs 

Car  repairs  are  made,  not  after  so  many  miles  of 
service,  but  at  periodic  intervals,  as  follows: 

Passenger  cars  in  fast  service,  without 

painting  every  4  mos. 

Passenger  cars  on  through  lines,  without 

painting  every  8  mos. 

Passenger  cars  on  branch  lines,  without 

painting every  12  mos. 

Passenger  cars  repainted every     5  yrs. 

Passenger  cars  wholly  scraped,  repainted 

and  varnished,  within  and  without every  10  yrs. 

Freight  cars,  general  repair,  without  paint- 
ing   every  3  yrs. 

Freight  cars,  general  repair,  with  painting. .every     6  yrs. 

Repair  Cost  Schedules 

In  conjunction  with  these  standards  of  performance 
of  the  equipment  are  standards  of  repair  cost  upon  a 


HUNGARY 


79 


mileage  basis,  an  allowance  or  allotment  being  ap- 
propriated for  repairs.  This  allowance  is  divided  be- 
tween the  car  yards,  shops  and  roundhouses  main- 
taining the  equipment  in  a  running  condition,  and  the 
main  general  repair  shops.  This  plan  of  allowance, 
or  allotment,  is  so  thoroughly  worked  out  that,  gen- 
erally speaking,  the  predetermined  cost  and  perform- 
ance are  actually  attained  in  practice.  When  the 
performance  is  materially  below  the  standard  set,  or 


Boiler    Shop    with    Traveling     Crane;     Hungarian    State     Railways 
at   Budapest. 

the  costs  are  very  markedly  above  or  below  the  stand- 
ard, an  investigation  is  made  as  to  the  causes.  It  is. 
not  considered  a  favorable  sign  when  costs  are  greatly 
below  the  predetermined  standard,  as  it  is  felt  this 
work  may  have  been  done  superficially,  and  the  rigid 
inspection  system  is  continually  on  guard  against  any 
such  tendency.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  the  re- 
verse of  a  disregard  for  excessive  labor  costs.  So 
closely  do  the  standards  and  the  actual  costs  com- 


80 


FOREIGN  RAILWAY   PRACTICE 


pare  that  the  amount  of  money  spent  upon  the  dif- 
ferent classes  of  equipment,  divided  by  the  mileage 
performance  of  these  classes,  is  a  financial  measure 
as  to  the  existing  condition  of  the  equipment.  The 


Surgical    Supply    Cabinet    in    Physician's    Compartment    on    Invalid 

Car. 

following  table  shows  the  actual  repair  costs  of  equip- 
ment of  the  Hungarian  State  Lines  per  one  hundred 
miles  run : 

Locomotives $3.44 

Passenger  cars    33 

Baggage  cars 12 

Preight   cars    , 12 


HUNGARY  81 

It  must  be  explained  that  the  figures  above  quoted 
as  to  car  performance  are  not  on  the  car  mile,  but 
upon  the  axle  mile,  most  of  the  cars  being  four 
wheeled  (or  two  axle),  with  a  few  equipped  with  two 
four-wheeled  bogie  trucks,  as  in  American  practice. 
Most  of  the  passenger  cars  are  also  four  wheeled,  with 
a  large  proportion  of  six-wheeled  or  three-axle  cars, 
one  of  the  axles  being  under  the  middle  of  the  car. 
The  modern  through  passenger  equipment  is  to  a 
large  extent  composed  of  four  axle  cars,  the  trucks 
being  somewhat  after  the  American  arrangement. 

These  figures  are  quoted  merely  as  a  matter  of  in- 
formation, the  wage  conditions,  conditions  of  service 
and  characteristics  of  design  being  so  different  in 
Hungary  as  not  to  furnish  intelligible  bases  of  com- 
parison with  American  practice. 

Main  Shops 

At  Budapest  I  had  the  pleasure  of  visiting  one  of 
the  large  shops  of  the  Hungarian  Railway  in  com- 
pany with  the  general  superintendent  of  motive 
power,  Johann  Papp.  At  this  place,  although  the 
shops  are  not  nearly  as  large  as  at  Crewe,  England, 
I  found  that,  as  a  whole,  the  layout  was  more  com- 
plete in  detail  than  in  either  the  American  or  Euro- 
pean shops  that  it  has  been  my  pleasure  to  visit.  Mr. 
Papp  told  me  that  the  embodiments  and  refinements 
in  shop  and  roundhouse  layout  which  are  applied  in 
practice  in  Budapest  were  gathered  by  him,  as  a  re- 
sult of  many  journeys,  from  the  best  practice  of  each 
of  the  civilized  railroad  countries,  including  the 
United  States  and  Canada. 

Emergency  Hospital 

For  instance,  on  my  first  entering  the  office  build- 
ing assigned  to  the  superintendent  of  shops,  I  was 


82 


FOREIGN  RAILWAY  PRACTICE 


struck  with  the  room,  conveniently  located  at  the 
entrance,  for  the  reception  of  anyone  who  might  be 
injured  in  the  shops.  This  emergency  hospital  cham- 
ber was  equipped  with  an  operating  table  and  the 
most  modern  surgical  apparatus,  so  that  major 
emergency  operations  could  be  conducted  without  a 
moment's  delay. 

Not  only  are  the  shop  employees  so  provided  for, 
but  men  in  the  train  service  and  passengers  are  simi- 
larly prepared  for  in  case  of  any  accident  to  trains,  a 


Arrangement  of  Private   Invalid   Car  Used  on  the  Hungarian   State 
Railways. 


full  hospital  train  with  road  cars  being  held  in  readi- 
ness for  departure  to  the  scene  of  any  accident  upon 
telegraphic  notice.  The  special  equipment  of  these 
trains,  allowing  for  the  difference  in  purpose,  is  simi- 
lar to  that  of  our  emergency  cars  for  mining  dis- 
asters. The  cars  constituting  these  trains  are  not  old 
converted  coaches,  ill  adapted  to  the  purpose  in  view, 
but  are  complete  with  every  regard  for  the  comfort 
and  succor  of  the  injured. 


HUNGARY  83 

Apprentice  System 

The  next  point  that  impressed  me  was  the  appren- 
ticeship school  or  shop.  Here,  in  a  separate  building 
from  the  main  plant,  the  apprentice  spends  the  first 
two  years  of  his  service  under  the  direct  supervision 
of  instructors.  Tools  are  made,  such  as  chisels, 
flatters,  taps,  and  many  small  parts  of  locomotives, 
in  addition  to  many  models  of  either  special  machine 
or  locomotive  types.  During  my  visit  they  had  under 
construction,  to  be  used  as  a  permanent  exhibit,  a 
complete  model  of  one  of  the  beautiful  railroad 
bridges  that  have  just  been  completed,  spanning  the 
Danube.  This  work  was  done  by  the  apprentices 
under  the  careful  supervision  of  practical  mechanics. 
What  particularly  impressed  me  was  the  explanation 
given  by  Mr.  Papp  as  to  the  method  and  purpose 
underlying  the  instruction  period  of  the  apprentices. 
Instead  of  the  boys  and  young  men  passing  from  one 
department  of  a  shop  to  another  in  a  rather  indis- 
criminate manner,  picking  up  knowledge  of  work, 
perhaps  sometimes  indifferently  from  a  foreman  or 
from  the  mechanics,  or  sometimes  shop  instructors, 
they  were  set  apart  during  the  first  two  impression- 
able years  of  their  apprenticeship  to  be  thoroughly 
grounded  by  those  who  are  known  to  be  most  com- 
petent to  instruct  in  skilled  practical  work,  as  to  the 
right  and  best  ways  of  doing  each  class  of  work  so 
that  bad  or  faulty  habits  of  work  would  not  be 
learned — to  be  unlearned  later.  For  the  succeeding 
two  years  the  boys  work  in  the  regular  shops  where 
they  receive  additional  care  and  instruction,  and 
gradually  become  amalgamated  with  the  regular 
working  organization.  After  the  preliminary  two 
years  the  boys  are  much  better  fitted  to  go  into  the 
main  shops  with  the  older  mechanics  and  continue 
their  apprenticeship. 


84  FOREIGN   RAILWAY  PRACTICE 

During  apprenticeship  the  boys  have  to  attend 
school  for  two  hours  of  each  day,  and  for  these  study, 
lecture  and  drawing  periods  they  are  paid  as  they 
would  be  for  productive  work,  the  railway  admini- 
stration knowing  that  the  cost  of  this  instruction  is 
a  most  valuable  asset  in  the  working  ability  of  its 
future  mechanics.  The  schedule  of  study  hours  per 
week  during  the  four  years'  of  apprenticeship  is  as 
follows: 

Hours  per  week  for  each 
of  the  four  school  years. 

list     2nd  3rd     4tJT 
year.  year.  year.  year. 

Reading  and  general  instruction 1         1  1 

Review  instruction  in  reading  and  writ- 
ing         1 

Composition    1         1  1 

Arithmetic  and  geometry    2         2  1 

Review  instruction  in  mathematics....      1 

Time  keeping  and  cost  accounting 1 

Physics  and  chemistry    2         1 

Elements  of  mechanical  design 1         1 

Instruction  in  theory  of  machine  power 

operation    1  1         1 

Instruction  in  hygiene 1 

Mechanical  drawing   4         4  4         4 

In  selecting  apprentices  the  first  chance  is  given 
to  those  sons  of  railway  employees  who  have  capacity 
for  this  class  of  work.  Candidates  for  membership 
must  have  passed  through  the  middle  grades  of  the 
common  school,  and  be  over  fourteen  years  of  age. 
Every  year  a  theoretical  and  practical  examination 
is  held.  In  addition  to  giving  oral  and  written 
answers  to  examination  questions,  the  boys  are  per- 
mitted four  hours  in  which  to  accomplish  a  certain 
piece  of  work  according  to  a  blueprint.  The  way 
in  which  this  work  is  done,  as  well  as  the  mental  apti- 
tude shown  by  the  pupil,  determines  his  proficiency. 
The  examinations  are  conducted  in  the  presence  of 
parents  and  others  of  the  public  that  are  interested. 
Prizes  are  awarded  to  those  who  are  especially  ad- 
vanced. 


HUNGARY  85 

Before  completing  his  fourth  year  of  apprentice- 
ship, the  apprentice  must  produce  a  masterpiece  of 
work,  usually  a  model  of  some  machine,  locomotive 
or  structure  used  in  the  railroad  service.  During  the 
apprenticeship  course  the  boys  are  paid  regular 
wages,  which  are  increased  from  term  to  term,  ten 
per  cent,  of  their  earnings  being  held  out  in  a  sav- 
ings fund  until  the  end  of  the  apprenticeship. 

Upon  the  completion  of  their  apprenticeship  there 
is  no  binding  agreement  upon  the  young  men  to  con- 
tinue in  railroad  service,  although  places  are  pro- 
vided for  those  that  desire  them.  The  Government 
Railroad  Administration  considers  it  its  duty  to  the 
industries  of  the  nation  to  offer  this  sacrifice  upon 
the  altar  of  education  for  the  advancement  of  the 
commercial  development  of  the  people. 

I  regretted  that  in  this  visit  there  were  not  present 
such  missionaries  as  George  M.  Basford,  who  for 
many  years  has  been  an  advance  prophet  of  railroad 
apprenticeship  instruction  in  the  States,  and  also 
those  men  who  have  followed  up  his  inspiration  by 
practical  application  on  some  of  our  largest  railway 
systems,  such  as  Mr.  Thomas,  Mr.  Cross,  Mr.  Hen- 
shaw,  and  others,  whose  ideal  has  been  to  make  think- 
ing, skilled  mechanics  of  the  younger  generation, 
rather  than  specialized  automatons.  In  Budapest 
was  wrought  into  complete  execution  the  kind  of  in- 
struction that  these  American  pioneers  are  so 
earnestly  developing  on  the  roads  that  they  serve,  and 
too  much  credit  cannot  be  accorded  to  the  earnestness 
of  their  work  and  the  support  that  is  being  given  by 
their  officers. 

What  Becomes  of  the  Apprentice? 

What  becomes  of  these  apprentices  after  they  have 
completed  their  general  grounding  as  all-round 


86  FOREIGN   RAILWAY  PRACTICE 

mechanics?  It  is  only  after  this  general  training  that 
the  special  development  of  the  particular  abilities  that 
the  young  man  may  have  shown  is  undertaken.  In  no 
American  shop  have  I  seen  specialized  pursuits  and 
occupations  carried  to  the  extent  and  thoroughness 
that  exists  in  the  shops  at  Budapest.  In  each  class 
of  work,  such  as  erecting,  rod,  bench,  piston  rod  and 
crank  pin  work,  machine  work,  etc.,  each  of  the 
gangs  was  composed  of  carefully  trained  men  who 
were  especially  fitted  for  the  particular  class  of  work 
to  be  performed  by  it.  It  was  explained  that  certain 
qualities  in  mechanics,  as  in  poets,  are  inherent  and 
cannot  be  acquired  by  training.  How  often  do  we 
see  men  operating  fast  moving  machinery  requiring 
quick  action  and  co-ordination  of  the  eyes,  the  brain, 
and  the  hands,  who  may  have  quick  action  between 
the  eyes  and  the  brain,  but  do  not  have  co-ordination 
of  the  hands,  so  essential  to  most  efficient  operation. 
These  men  would  be  much  better  adapted  to  their 
occupation  if  they  were  working  on  the  erecting  floor 
or  at  the  bench.  Again  how  often  do  we  find  men 
of  a  nervous  and  energetic  temperament  fretting  away 
their  time  standing  at  machines  when  they  should  be 
working  in  the  erecting  shop  where  vent  could  be 
given  to  their  energetic  natures.  And  again  we  find 
men  running  lathes  where  great  accuracy  of  touch 
is  required,  such  as  in  making  close  fits,  who  are  by 
temperament  and  physical  make-up  ponderous  and 
clumsy,  and  who  would  be  happier  working  in  a 
steam  pipe  gang  lifting  and  fitting  up  heavy  steam 
pipes.  The  contrast  and  misfit  of  occupation  is  as 
glaring  as  the  performance  of  a  draft  horse  would 
be  on  a  race  track. 

The  two  years  of  training  in  a  separate  building 
gives  those  who  are  studying  the  character  and  capa- 
bilities of  the  apprentices  an  opportunity  to  later 


HUNGARY  87 

select  and  assign  them  to  that  class  of  work  which  is 
especially  fitted  to  their  qualities  and  characteristics. 
A  man  does  that  thing  best  which  he  loves  to  do— 
because  he  can  do  it  well  rather  than  because  he  is 
directed  to  do  the  work  without  consideration  for  or 
sympathy  with  his  particular  aptitudes. 

When  the  men  are  in  the  service  their  moral  wel- 
fare continues  to  be  the  subject  of  a  kindly  paternalis- 
tic administration. 

Drinking  Fountains 

An  indication  of  this  attitude  appeared  in  the  ma- 
chine shop.  I  observed  a  construction  somewhat  like 
a  soda  water  fountain  with  a  neatly  dressed  girl  in 
attendance.  This  naturally  surprised  me  very  much, 
and  I  inquired.  It  developed  that  in  order  to  offset 
the  desire  for  alcoholic  drinks,  the  superintendent  of 
shops,  Mr.  Hermann,  had  decided  to  establish  these 
soda  fountains  in  the  shops,  where  various  kinds  of 
soft  drinks  could  be  obtained  by  the  workmen  prac- 
tically at  cost,  the  men  being  free  to  come  and  go  for 
such  refreshing  beverages  just  as  they  would  in  our 
shops  for  ice  water.  Any  small  profit  that  might  re- 
main over  from  the  sale  of  the  drinks  was  applied  to  a 
charity.  Undoubtedly  this  institution  is  a  most  ex- 
cellent step  in  the  interest  of  the  sobriety  and  health 
of  the  employees,  and  the  superintendent  of  shops, 
or  chief  of  shops,  as  he  is  called,  is  to  be  congratu- 
lated for  this  practical  humanitarian  step. 

Saloons,  Y.  M.  C.  A.'s,  Soda — and  Service 

This  furnishes  the  germ  of  an  idea  which  may  well 
be  adapted  to  our  uses  in  America.  Whether  we 
belong  to  a  prohibition  or  total  abstinence  movement 
or  not,  we  are  all  agreed  as  to  the  evil  effects  of 
alcoholism,  as  to  the  benefits  of  temperateness,  and 


88  FOREIGN  RAILWAY  PRACTICE 

it  is  interesting  to  note  in  this  connection  that 
American  railroads  have  probably  done  more  (by 
stern  discipline  in  enforcing  Rule  G)  in  the  cause  of 
practical  temperance  than  have  the  political  move- 
ments to  this  end.  In  the  extirpation  of  an  evil,  we 
should  seek  its  root. 

Why  is  a  saloon? 

The  saloonkeeper  long  recognized  that  he  could 
not  alone  draw  his  trade  by  selling  alcoholic  drinks, 
but  to  keep  and  hold  his  customers  he  would  have 
to  give  them  good  service.  For  that  reason  he  gives 
the  whole  and  hearty  cheer,  the  wayside  warmth  and 
companionship  to  the  lonely  shop  or  workmen,  as  in 
the  inn  of  old,  and  with  practical  concession  to  mod- 
ern business  needs,  uses,  etc.  In  the  saloon  the  quick- 
est and  cheapest  of  lunches  may  be  had.  Every  saloon 
is  (for  men)  a  public  comfort  station.  The  barkeeper 
is  the  working  shopmen's  banker,  in  many  instances, 
where  his  pay-check  is  cashed  without  inconvenient 
red  tape,  and  if  the  workman  is  his  customer  in  good 
standing  and  needs  a  dollar  or  five,  he  gets  it.  The 
saloon  in  America  has  made  itself  a  public  service 
institution — not  confined  to  the  hours  10  to  3. 

How  different  might  our  workman's  life  here  be  if 
the  soda  fountains  had  set  themselves  to  give  the 
same  service  as  the  bars — if  they  were  such  repre- 
sentative service  institutions.  In  this  we  have  the 
idea  of  our  R.  R.  Y.  M.  C.  A/s — the  true  way,  as  the 
writer  has  already  elaborated  in  an  earlier  book,  to 
confirm  men  in  moral  habits;  and  when  we  add  to  the 
moral  influences  the  growing  utility  of  these  Y.  M. 
C.  A/s  and  recreation  clubs,  such  as  Mr.  Ripley  of 
the  Santa  Fe  has  instituted,  the  railroads  are  develop- 
ing a  public  service  of  the  highest  order,  one  deserv- 
ing even  of  being  fostered  by  government  support, 
as  is  done  in  similar  instances  abroad. 


HUNGARY  89 

Trades  Organizations 

Of  special  interest  is,  of  course,  the  organization 
and  attitude  of  the  body  of  the  working  men  in  the 
shops,  etc.  The  policy  of  the  Hungarian  State  Rail- 
ways is  that  of  the  open  shop.  Trade  unions  in  the 
form  that  we  know  them  in  the  United  States  are 
non-existent  on  the  government  railroads.  In  Hun- 
gary many  recruits  from  all  classes  of  trades  (out- 
side the  railways)  are  drawn  to  a  political  party  known 
as  the  social  democratic  party,  whose  members  are 
principally  socialistic.  This  political  party  has  a 
vigorous  representative  in  the  parliament,  and  its 
program  is  one  of  spirited  protest  against  the  con- 
stituted form  of  government.  For  this  reason  it  is 
deemed  against  the  interests  of,  and  loyalty  to,  the 
state  to  permit  those  who  serve  the  state  to  be  affili- 
ated with  a  political  organization  in  conflict  with  the 
administration  of  the  state  enterprises.  No  man  in 
the  state  railroad  employ  may  be  a  member  of  the 
social  democratic  organization,  upon  pain  of  dis- 
missal. 

Adjustment  of  Grievances 

On  the  other  hand,  excellent  arrangements  are 
made  for  the  presentation  or  discussion  of  grievances, 
or  desired  changes  in  the  working  conditions  of  the 
men.  The  men  have  regularly  elected  representa- 
tives from  among  their  own  members,  for  each  divi- 
sion of  the  railway,  and  for  the  railway  as  a  whole. 
These  representatives  sit  in  session  with  officials 
selected  by  the  railway  for  the  mutual  discussion  and 
adjustment  of  matters  affecting  the  welfare  of  the 
men.  In  practice  this  permanently  constituted  arbi- 
tration board  seems  to  work  out  very  satisfactorily, 
for  both  in  working  conditions  and  in  rates  of  pay 
the  railroad  men,  and  particularly  the  shop  men,  are 


90  FOREIGN   RAILWAY   PRACTICE 

better  off  than  those  in  similar  kinds  of  work  in  pri- 
vate employ  elsewhere  in  the  country. 

The  railway  administration  has  no  difficulty  in  at- 
tracting to  its  service  the  most  competent  men  in 
each  of  the  trades,  it  being  considered  an  honor  to  be 
in  the  government  employ.  When  a  man  has  served 
a  probation  period  of  three  years,  he  then  becomes  a 
sworn  worker  for  the  state,  and  cannot  be  summarily 
dismissed.  If  there  were  just  cause  for  dismissal  or 
other  corrective  measure,  this  cause  is  determined 
as  a  result  of  evidence  presented  before  a  regularly 
constituted  court,  or  committee  of  inquiry,  and  upon 
its  recommendation  a  responsible  officer  will  take 
action.  In  this  way  the  men  are  guarded  against  in- 
justice due  to  action  that  is  hasty,  ill  considered, 
tyrannical  or  born  of  personal  feeling  or  prejudice  on 
the  part  of  some  minor  official  or  foreman.  In  the 
manifest  love  that  the  men  have  for  their  work  it  is 
seen  that  this  security  in  their  positions,  so  long  as 
they  do  their  duty,  does  not  make  them  slothful  or 
negligent. 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  there  is  always  a  super- 
abundance of  competent  men  in  the  various  trades 
anxious  to  get  into  the  railway  service,  the  railway 
administration  deems  it  to  be  to  the  interest  of  its 
employees  and  their  families,  that  opportunities 
should  be  afforded  their  sons  to  specially  fit  them- 
selves for  railroad  positions,  if  they  are  capable  of  so 
doing. 

Because  of  this  general  method  of  training,  the  men 
not  only  turn  out  careful  work  of  high  quality,  but 
the  occupations  being  specialized  favor  large  pro- 
duction of  similar  units  or  pieces  at  a  minimum  price 
per  piece.  A  further  factor  in  bringing  the  standard 
unit  cost  to  a  remarkably  low  figure  is  the  system  of 
paying  the  men  upon  an  output  basis  instead  of  an 


HUNGARY  91 

hourly  wage.  These  two  policies,  careful  training 
and  intensive  wage  system,  coupled  with  careful  en- 
gine house  inspection  by  the  enginemen  themselves, 
make  for  the  best  and  cheapest  locomotive  opera- 
tion ;  and  when  replacements  or  repairs  are  neces- 
sary, these  operations  are  performed  at  the  minimum 
cost.  For  these  reasons,  the  costs  of  locomotive  main- 
tenance are  found  to  be  extraordinarily  low  on  the 
Hungarian  lines,  upon  any  unit  basis  selected  for 
comparison,  as  compared  with  American  or  with 
other  European  lines. 


LOCOMOTIVE  TERMINALS 


VI 

LOCOMOTIVE  TERMINALS 

THE  engine-house  about  to  be  described  is  at 
Budapest,  Hungary,  and  consists  of  two  round- 
houses, one  a  half  circle  with  22  pits,  the  other 
a  three-quarter  circle  with  34  pits.  These  are  the 
most  up-to-date  roundhouses  that  it  has  been  my 
good  fortune  to  visit,  and,  therefore,  merit  special 
attention.  They  are  built  of  brick  and  stone,  with 
steel  roofs,  and  a  double  swinging  door  to  each  stall. 
Both  buildings  are  equipped  with  the  Fabel  central 
smoke  uptake.  The  engines  are  backed  into  the 
stalls,  tender  first,  and  over  the  small  diameter  circle 
above  their  stacks  is  a  large  rectangular  duct  into 
which  the  smoke  jacks  carry  the  fumes  from  the  loco- 
motive stacks.  One  hundred  and  twenty  degrees 
apart  are  ducts  that  lead  from  this  inner  circular  duct 
to  the  outer  wall  where  they  are  connected  with  tall 
brick  stacks.  In  this  way  a  good  draft  is  secured  that 
takes  every  vestige  of  smoke  out  of  the  roundhouse, 
and  leaves  a  clear  atmosphere.  I  had  never  seen 
such  a  thoroughly  successful  method  of  ventilating 
a  roundhouse.  The  chimneys  are  about  125  ft.  high. 
The  turntables  are  66  ft.  long  and  are  driven  by 
electric  motors. 

Adjuncts 

As  adjuncts  to  the  roundhouse,  are  the  following 
buildings  and  rooms:  Foreman's  office  with  inter- 
communicating telephone  connection;  engine  board; 
safe  for  the  storage  of  valuables  belonging  to  engine- 
men;  alcove  for  receipt  of  laundry,  including  overalls, 

95 


LOCOMOTIVE   TERMINALS  97 

etc.;  running  repair  shop;  rest  room  for  enginemen 
with  facilities  for  turning  in  time  tickets,  speed 
recorder  diagrams,  work  books,  etc. ;  the  clothes 
lockers  of  each  individual  engineer  are  in  the  round- 
house proper;  rest  room  for  firemen  and  hostlers, 
heated  by  gas  and  fitted  with  clothes  lockers  for  each 
individual  man;  room  for  the  care  of  oil  cans,  each 
individual  engineer  having  his  own  cans  and  allotted 
shelf;  room  for  care  of  engine  lamps;  room  for  ma- 
chinists; room  for  air  brake  instruction;  room  for 
foreman  of  the  electrical  equipment;  carpenter's  shop; 
electric  transformer  room;  and  rooms  containing  gas 
hot  water  preheaters  for  outgoing  locomotives. 

A  word  should  be  said  as  to  the  care  of  the  oil,  oil 
cans,  lamps  and  supplies  for  locomotives.  These 
articles  are  assigned  to  the  individual  engineers  so 
that  notwithstanding  the  locomotive  pooling  system, 
the  men  retain  their  individual  equipment  of  supplies 
and  tools,  and  have  an  interest  in  their  economical  use. 

For  boiler  washing  the  Schilhan  Wittenberg  hot 
water  system  is  installed,  which  utilizes  the  steam 
from  incoming  engines  for  heating  the  water.  In 
the  roundhouse  is  an  electrically  operated  drop  pit, 
using  a  9  h.  p.  motor,  which  is  kept  in  scrupulously 
clean  condition.  There  are  separate  office  buildings 
for  the  chief  roundhouse  foreman  and  the  assistants 
and  clerks  attached  to  him;  in  this  office  building  is, 
as  in  each  of  the  shops,  a  small  emergency  surgical 
operating  room. 

In  the  air  brake  instruction  room  are  facilities  for 
instruction  in  the  use  of  the  brakes,  as  well  as  in  the 
use  of  lubricators,  first  aid  to  the  injured,  high  tension 
electric  apparatus,  different  locomotive  valve  gears, 
signals,  etc.  On  the  walls  are  charts  and  tables  illus- 
trating these. 

Attached  to  the  roundhouse  is  a  small  shop  with 


98  FOREIGN  RAILWAY  PRACTICE 


four  pits  for  light  locomotive  repairs  and  the  neces- 
sary machine  shop  equipment  for  carrying  on  these 
repairs.  A  jib  crane  of  five  tons  capacity  serves  to 
hoist  heavy  parts  to  their  respective  machines.  In 


Locomotive    Tire    Heater    in    Roundhouse    of    Hungarian    State 
Railways. 

this  shop  building  are  also  two  smith  fires,  an  oxy- 
acetylene  welding  outfit,  pipe  and  coppersmith 
benches  and  fires,  together  with  a  babbitt  furnace, 
etc.  Attached  also  to  the  roundhouse  is  a  complete 


LOCOMOTIVE   TERMINALS 


99 


store  building  with  equipment  for  handling  oils  with- 
out waste,  and  for  the  safe  storage  and  easy  handling 
of  new  and  scrap  materials. 

A  provision  that  was  made  for  the  personnel  was 
most  surprising;  namely,   an   auto-bus   service   con- 


steel  Ash   Hoist  and  Conveyor;  Hungarian  State  Railways. 


LOCOMOTIVE  TERMINALS  101 

sisting  of  two  auto-buses  that  made  regular  scheduled 
trips  to  outlying  residence  districts  to  take  the  en- 
ginemen  to  and  from  their  runs.  A  garage,  with  a 
room  for  the  chauffeurs  of  these  auto-buses,  was  also 
provided. 

Another  small  building  contained  twelve  compart- 
ments for  engineers  and  firemen,  with  individual  beds, 
besides  six  bath  rooms,  four  showers,  two  wash  rooms 
and  two  dining  rooms  with  heating  facilities  for  the 
lunches  that  the  men  might  bring  with  them.  Great 
importance  was  attached  to  absolute  cleanliness  and 
quiet  in  these  lodging  quarters.  A  lunch  room  where 
light  refreshments  and  coffee  could  be  purchased, 
and  accommodating  about  100  men  at  one  sitting, 
was  also  provided. 

A  sand  drying  and  storage  house  formed  a  part 
of  the  plant,  together  with  ash  pits  permitting  the 
cleaning  of  the  fires  of  ten  locomotives  at  the  same 
time,  with  ten  water  cranes  placed  so  that  water  could 
be  taken  without  moving  the  locomotives. 

In  connection  with  the  coaling  plant,  where  the 
coal  was  unloaded  from  the  cars  first  onto  the 
ground,  thence  to  tram  cars  which  were  carried  by 
elevator  to  a  concrete  platform,  where  they  were 
dumped  direct  in  the  tenders,  was  an  electrically 
driven  circular  saw  for  sawing  scrap  wood  into  con- 
venient lengths  for  firing  up  locomotives.  There  was 
also  a  mechanical  coal  sorting  device  used  to  de- 
termine the  quality  of  the  coal  received.  An  inspector 
would  select  arbitrarily  certain  cars  of  coal,  dump 
these  into  the  machine,  which  sorted  the  coal  out 
and  determined  the  proportion  of  each  size,  the 
chemical  and  heat  unit  analysis  being  made  from 
samples  of  each  size;  the  coal  is  purchased  on  the 
basis  of  certain  specifications. 

A  conspicuous  feature  of  the  roundhouse  was  the 


102  FOREIGN  RAILWAY  PRACTICE 

water  tower,  which  had  a  capacity  of  260,000  gallons. 
The  bottom  of  this  tank  was  over  90  ft.  above  the 
level  of  the  track,  the  top  level  of  the  water  being 
over  120  ft.  above  it.  The  space  in  the  enclosed  brick 
portion  underneath  the  tank  served  for  certain  stores. 
The  accompanying  photographs  describe  better 
than  words  the  general  excellence  of  the  arrangement 
of  this  roundhouse,  which,  as  stated  before,  is  the 
most  improved  and  completely  equipped  one  I  have 
ever  seen. 

French  Roundhouse,  Covered 

Another  modern  European  roundhouse  is  in 
France.  One  of  the  most  important  division  points 
on  the  Eastern  Railway  of  France  is  at  Mohon,  and 
complete  facilities  have  been  provided  for  the  proper 
terminal  maintenance  of  locomotives.  The  arrange- 
ment provides  for  two  connecting  engine  houses  of 
32  stalls  each  and  a  moderate  size  repair  shop,  to- 
gether with  coaling  stations,  etc.  The  most  interest- 
ing feature  of  the  terminal  is  the  elaborate  design  of 
the  engine  house.  As  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  the 
illustration,  which  is  taken  from  the  Revue  Generate 
des  Chemins  de  Fer,  the  track  arrangement  is  the 
same  as  is  employed 'in  this  country,  and  provides 
a  75-ft.  turntable.  The  turntable  pit  and  the  inner 
circle  of  the  house  are  completely  covered  by  a  large 
dome  having  a  clear  span  of  132  ft.  2  in.  This  has 
a  large  ventilator  in  the  center  and  a  series  of  sky- 
lights near  the  bottom  of  the  arch.  Surrounding  this 
is  a  series  of  what  practically  corresponds  to  separate 
gabled  roofed  structures,  arranged  radially,  each  of 
which  covers  two  pits.  The  roof  beams  are  supported 
by  a  series  of  four  posts  and  the  outer  brick  pilasters; 
this  part  of  the  structure  is  of  wood  except  for 
the  outer  wall,  which  is  of  brick.  The  central 


LOCOMOTIVE  TERMINALS  103 

arch  is  of  steel,  and  is  covered  with  a  zinc  roofing. 
The  smoke  jack  arrangement  indicates  that  the 
locomotives  are  stored  with  the  tenders  outward.  On 
each  side  of  the  gables  are  large  skylights  and  the 
outside  wall  is  about  two-thirds  glass;  it  is  evident 
from  the  illustration  that  the  lighting  will  be  entirely 
satisfactory  if  the  glass  is  kept  clean.  In  the  top  of 
each  gable  are  large  ventilators.  Each  of  these  en- 
gine houses  is  about  275  ft.  outside  diameter.  The 
pits  are  65  ft.  in  length.  The  distance  from  the  out- 
side wall  to  the  steel  columns  supporting  the  dome 
is  71  ft.  The  dome  is  54  ft.  10  in.  high  to  the  top  of 
the  ventilator  in  the  center. 

Proposed  American  Practice 

While  the  .descriptions  of  European  roundhouses 
may  be  of  interest,  the  practical  American  will  ask 
how  far  these  principles  would  benefit  our  conditions 
here.  I  believe  the  benefits  may  be  very  substantial, 
very  practical  and  not  unduly  costly.  The  present 
plan  of  roundhouse  construction  followed  in  this 
country  possesses  a  number  of  highly  objectionable 
features,  some  of  which  are  outlined  below  together 
with  suggestions  for  remedying  them. 

The  difficulty  experienced  in  properly  heating  a 
roundhouse  in  winter  is  in  a  large  measure  due  to  the 
inability  to  keep  closed  the  numerous  large  and  un- 
wieldy doors  necessitated  by  the  type  of  construc- 
tion employed.  On  some  of  the  northern  roads  like 
the  Grand  Trunk  Pacific,  special  types  of  collaps- 
ing doors  have  been  introduced.  This  difficulty  has 
also  been  overcome  on  some  European  roads  by  the 
simple  expedient  of  roofing  over  the  central  area,  as 
shown  in  the  accompanying  perspective  drawing, 
thereby  avoiding  the  expense  and  trouble  of  a  door 
for  each  engine  stall.  The  only  doors  necessary  in 


104  FOREIGN   RAILWAY  PRACTICE 

this  case  are  those  at  the  entrance  in  the  outer  walls, 
which  may  be  kept  closed  with  much  less  difficulty. 
The  roofed  over  central  area  may  still  further  be 
made  use  of  by  paving  the  space  between  the  tracks 
leading  to  the  stalls  and  so  making  it  available  for 
trucking  purposes. 

Further,  by  covering  the  turntable  pit  with  a  floor 
attached  to  and  revolving  with  the  turntable,  much 
time  may  be  saved  in  trucking  from  one  part  of  the 
roundhouse  to  another,  because  it  would  then  be  pos- 
sible to  take  the  shortest  route  over  the  pavement 
between  the  track  and  the  covered  turntable  pit  in- 


Turntable   Pit  Completely  Covered   by   Revolving   Floor  Attached  to 

Turntable  and  with   Space    Between    Rails   in    Central   Area 

Paved  to  the   Level   of  the  Tops  of  the   Rails. 

stead  of  being  obliged  to  follow  around  the  outer  wall 
of  the  roundhouse,  as  is  now  the  case. 

The  covered  turntable  pit  would  furthermore  make 
it  impossible  for  anything  to  fall  into  the  pit  and  con- 
sequently prevent  many  accidents  to  the  employees 
and  to  the  turntable  itself,  with  the  resulting  delays 
in  getting  engines  into  and  out  of  the  roundhouse. 

Carrying  this  plan  a  step  further,  it  should  be 
practicable  to  enlarge  the  turntable  pit  until  it  had 
a  diameter  co-equal  with  that  of  the  circle  bounding 
the  inner  ends  of  the  stalls.  This  would  require  a 
turntable  some  150  ft.  or  over  in  length,  the  construe- 


LOCOMOTIVE  TERMINALS  105 

tion  of  which  should  involve  no  serious  difficulty. 
Such  a  turntable  could  be  supported  on  several  con- 
centric rails  and  could  also  be  so  jointed  and  equal- 
ized as  to  allow  of  taking  up  slight  inequalities  of 
vertical  movement  due  to  the  rails  not  being  exactly 
level  at  all  spots.  But  in  turning,  the  engine  would 
be  balanced  at  the  middle  of  the  table  as  now,  the 
main  weight  being  borne  by  the  center  pivot.  This 
pit  might  be  very  shallow,  say  12  or  18  in.  The 
girders  supporting  the  turning  locomotive,  if  raised 
above  the  floor  level,  should  allow  ample  clearance  so 
no  men  could  be  caught  between  them  and  the 
locomotive. 

By  then  covering  this  whole  central  area  with  a 
revolving  floor  (and  doing  away  with  the  radial 
tracks,  except  in  the  stalls  themselves),  certain  light 
machines  and  benches,  clothes  lockers,  offices  and 
other  roundhouse  appurtenances,  taking  up  room  but 
not  involving  heavy  weights,  could  be  carried  on  this 
great  central  table,  thus  utilizing  fully  the  entire  in- 
vestment in  ground  space  and  in  roof.  At  the  same 
time  much  greater  convenience  would  result  in  the 
roundhouse  handling  and  repair  work,' because  of  the 
central  location  of  these  adjuncts. 

The  smoke  jacks  commonly  provided  for  smoke 
removal  have  proved  themselves  very  inadequate  and 
the  atmosphere  of  the  roundhouse  is  usually  heavily 
charged  with  smoke,  soot  and  gases,  making  a  dis- 
agreeable and  unhealthful  environment  for  the  work- 
men. This  smoke  filled  atmosphere  shuts  off  the 
light  from  the  stalls,  which  condition  is  aggravated 
by  the  deposits  of  soot  and  grime  on  the  windows, 
reducing  the  amount  of  light  admitted,  which  is  still 
further  decreased  by  being  absorbed  by  the  smoke 
blackened  walls  and  roof.  Under  such  conditions  it 
is  impossible  for  the  workmen  to  attain  their  highest 


106  FOREIGN  RAILWAY  PRACTICE 

efficiency,  especially  in  winter  when  the  numerous 
doors  make  it  impossible  to  keep  the  temperature  in 
a  roundhouse  comfortable. 

We  have  referred  to  the  European  practice  of  re- 
moving the  obnoxious  gases  and  smoke  by  installing 
overhead  circumferential  smoke  ducts  or  canals  which 
are  connected  to  tall  chimneys  located  outside  of  the 
building.  These  ducts  are  provided  with  openings 
and  hoods  at  each  engine  stall  under  which  the  stacks 
of  the  engines  are  placed.  The  strong  draft  induced 
by  the  tall  chimneys  carries  away  every  vestige  of  the 
products  of  combustion  discharged  from  the  locomo- 
tive stacks  and  leaves  the  atmosphere  of  the  building 
clear  and  well  ventilated. 

If  a  steel  stack  were  used  instead  of  one  of  brick, 
and  possibly  a  central  support  were  adopted  in  con- 
nection with  the  turntable,  a  single  stack  at  the  center 
of  the  dome  might  economically  take  the  place  of  the 
two  or  three  commonly  used  in  Europe  for  this 
purpose. 

Some  mention  should  be  made  of  the  European 
practice  of  placing  the  locomotives  in  the  stalls  with 
their  stacks  toward  the  turntable.  With  the  covered 
center  and  with  adequate  roof  lighting,  this  should 
cause  no  difficulty  in  doing  work  on  cylinders,  valves, 
front  ends,  superheaters  and  flues,  and  should  facili- 
tate the  handling  of  material.  This  plan  should  also 
make  simpler  the  installation  of  a  crane  for  handling 
cylinders,  bushings,  cylinder  heads,  valve  chests,  pis- 
tons, rods,  etc. ;  in  fact,  the  large  revolving  floor  could 
be  used  as  such  a  crane,  carrying  heavy  material 
around  to  that  part  of  the  roundhouse  near  the  ma- 
chine shop  or  smith  fires.  An  advantage  of  this  pro- 
posed construction  of  central  roof  and  revolving  floor, 
is  that  it  may  be  readily  applied  at  a  moderate  ex- 
pense to  almost  any  existing  roundhouse. 


LOCOMOTIVE  TERMINALS 


107 


Lastly  it  may  be  observed  that  in  many  engine 
terminal  layouts  in  this  country  and  in  Europe,  there 
is  a  tendency  to  build  too  substantially,  too  perma- 
nently, too  well,  with  brick  and  concrete,  costly  coal- 
ing stations,  ash  pits,  and  other  structures.  In  five 
years,  or  in  ten  or  fifteen,  transportation  conditions 
may  so  change  that  the  facilities  will  also  require  ex- 
tensive changes.  Therefore,  engine  houses  and  their 
appurtenances  should  be  so  designed  and  built  that 
they  are  temporary  and  removable  in  their  nature, 
so  that  changes  in  terminal  track  location,  in  engine 
handling  movement,  in  extension  of  stalls,  even  in 
removing  completely  the  engine  terminal  to  a  new 
location,  or  in  moving  a  division  terminal,  may  be 
made  with  the  least  expense  and  the  least  loss  in 
abandoned  facilities. 


Roundhouse  with    Roof   over   Central   Area   and    Engine  Stalls   Con- 
nected   to    High    Stacks    by    Circumferential    Smoke    Ducts. 


BLOW-PIPE   WELDING 


Cutting    a    Hole    Through    a    Boiler    Plate    with    an    Oxy-Acetylene 

Torch. 


VII 

BLOW-PIPE    WELDING 

ONE  development  which  was  apparent  in  Euro- 
pean railway  practice,  and  which  is  effecting; 
a  thorough  revolution  in  Germany,  was  the 
application  of  the  oxy-acetylene  blow  pipe  to  metal 
working  of  all  kinds.     Not  only  is  the  process  beingf 
repeatedly  applied  wherever  it  is  found  to  benefit  the 
work,  either  in  economy  or  quality,  in  various  rail- 
road shop  operations,  but  it  is  also  causing  a  revolu- 
tion in  many  of  the  industrial  metal  working  trades, 

Metal  Cutting  VT.  Metal  Flowing 

During  the  past  ten  years  the  whole  practice  of 
metal  cutting  throughout  the  world,  and  particularly 
in  America,  has  been  greatly  improved  by  the  intro- 
duction of  the  high-speed  tungsten  alloy  tool  steels, 
there  being  scarcely  a  railroad  shop  in  the  United 
States  that  has  not  increased  its  production  and 
cheapened  its  costs  in  such  matters  as  turning  tires, 
knuckle  pins,  boring  cylinders,  etc.  Great  as  are  the 
changes  in  shop  practice  due  to  high  speed  steels,  the 
revolution  that  will  be  worked  in  the  treatment  of 
all  kinds  of  metals  by  the  oxy-acetylene  flame  in  the 
forming,  building  up,  repairing  of  worn  or  fatigued 
material,  cutting  apart  and  joining  together,  and,  in 
fact,  all  kinds  of  metal  forming  and  working,  is  bound 
to  far  overshadow  it. 

Oxy-Acetylene  Welded  Piping 

For  instance,  in  the  piping  of  buildings  for  all  pur- 
poses, and  whether  the  pipes  are  of  iron,  steel,  or 

in 


112  FOREIGN  RAILWAY   PRACTICE 

some  non-corrosive  material,  metal  working  is  under- 
going a  complete  metamorphosis  from  the  ground 
up.  Piping  heretofore  used  has  walls  relatively  thick 
compared  with  its  inside  diameter,  necessitated  by 
the  method  of  joining  the  ends  of  the  lengths  of  pipe 
together,  which  consists  in  cutting  a  thread  on  the 
end  of  the  pipe  so  that  it  may  be  screwed  into  a 
coupling,  elbow,  or  tee;  the  depths  of  these  threads 
determine  the  thickness  of  the  pipe  wall.  With  pipes 
or  tubes  that  may  be  joined  together  by  being  oxy- 
acetylene  welded  this  thickness  is  not  necessary,  and 
a  tube  of  thinner  material  may  be  used.  These  thin 
walled  pipes  are  easily  rolled  and  butt  welded  from 


.; 


Examples  of  Large   Heavy   Piping    Manufactured   by  Oxy-Acetylene 
Welding  at  the  Works  of  A.   Borsig   in  Tegel   near  Berlin. 

the  strip.  I  was  told  that  this  method  of  making 
these  thinner  pipes  was  more  economical  than  the 
present  method  of  making  wrought  iron  or  steel  pip- 
ing used  for  water,  gas  or  steam  purposes.  Flat 
bands  of  steel  or  iron  are  run  through  rolling  ma- 
chines to  the  desired  diameter,  and  are  then  put 
through  an  automatic  machine  and  oxy-acetylene 
butt  welded. 

In  place  of  having  unions,  elbows  and  couplings, 


BLOW-PIPE    WELDING  113 

as  is  the  present  practice  in  piping  a  building,  these 
are  eliminated  and  the  joints  are  welded  as  the  piping 
is  being  put  in  place.  It  will  be  readily  seen  that  with 
this  method  there  is  no  chance  of  leaks  due  to 
threaded  connections,  and  as  the  walls  of  the  piping 
are  thinner,  a  saving  is  accomplished  in  the  first  cost 
of  the  pipe.  When  pipe  is  applied  in  a  building,  all 
of  the  joints  and  connections  are  as  easily  made  in 
place  as  a  wiped  lead  joint,  and  are  much  neater  and 
stronger  in  proportion  to  the  metal  dealt  with.  1  was 
informed  by  those  in  charge  of  this  kind  of  work  that 
joints  made  in  this  way  were  done  more  quickly  and 
cheaply  than  with  the  threaded  connections. 

An  indication  of  the  scale  on  which  this  oxy-acety- 
lene  piping  is  being  applied  in  buildings,  is  found  in 
the  High  Court  of  Justice  building,  located  at 
Cologne,  which  has  8  kilometers,  or  over  5  miles  of 
welded  piping  and  joints  in  it;  and  plumbers  and  pipe 
workers  from  all  over  Germany,  and  in  fact  from 
the  other  countries  of  Europe,  are  becoming  expert 
in  the  new  method  as  rapidly  as  they  can.  Pipes  for 
railway  usage  may  be  applied  thus  in  roundhouses, 
shops  and  water  service  installations,  and  for  cars, 
eliminating  the  losses  due  to  compressed  air,  steam 
and  water  leaks — there  being  no  mechanical  joints. 
The  application  of  oxy-acetylene  welding  to  piping 
is  given  as  a  striking  example  of  the  use  of  the  new 
process,  although  it  is  only  one  of  thousands  that 
might  be  cited. 

Instruction  in  Welding 

With  the  far-sightedness  and  the  thoroughness 
with  which  the  Germans  prepare  for  any  change  in 
their  methods,  they  easily  recognized  the  importance 
of  proper  and  careful  training  in  the  practice  of  doing 
this  welding  work.  The  Royal  Prussian  government 


114  FOREIGN  RAILWAY  PRACTICE 

has  co-operated,  and,  to  an  extent,  endowed  and  sup- 
ported the  foundation,  first  of  a  special  advanced 
course  in  one  of  the  largest  technical  industrial 
schools,  where  investigation  and  instruction  as  to  the 
best  and  most  skillful  manner  of  applying  oxy-acety- 
lene  welding  and  cutting  to  the  different  trades  have 
been  completely  worked  out.  This  school  is  known 
as  the  Konigliche  Vereinigte  Maschinenbauschulen 
at  Cologne. 

The  first  course  in  the  new  art  was  given  in  May, 
1909,  and  since  that  time  29  successive  courses  of 
instruction  in  the  different  trades  have  been  given. 
In  the  winter  of  1911-12,  for  instance,  464  men  from 
various  trades  and  walks  of  life  took  this  course  at 
this  particular  technical  school — this  in  addition  to 
those  receiving  instruction  at  the  21  other  Royal 
Prussian  technical  or  trade  schools,  and  also  in  addi- 
tion to  the  instruction  given  in  similar  schools  in  the 
other  German  kingdoms. 

The  subdivision  of  these  464  students  was  as 
follows: 

Factory   owners    '•  •  78 

Factory  managers  and  engineers    125 

Foremen    116 

Mechanics    113 

Students    27 

Others    5 

Another  classification  according  to  the  kind  of 
trade  is  at  follows : 

Boiler  inspectors    17 

Boiler  workers,  etc 118 

Coppersmiths     18 

Blacksmiths    12 

Machinists     50 

Ship-builders    12 

Pipe   workers    11 

Electricians 9 

Bicycle  and  automobile  mechanics  11 

Safe   makers    6 

Locksmiths    44 

Employees  of  foundries  and  rolling  mills 8 

Gas  works  employees    6 

Gun    makers    .            1 


BLOW-PIPE   WELDING 


115 


Aluminum  workers    12 

Carbide   manufacturers    1 

Teachers  in  technical  schools    27 

Master  foremen  in  technical  schools 21 

Merchants  and  others   47 

Plumbers     33 

There  is  just  now  being  founded  at  Nuremberg  a 
special  school  devoted  exclusively  to  practical  and 


A  Collection  of  Oxy-Acetylene  Welded  Articles  in  the  Royal  School 
of   Machine   Construction   at   Cologne. 


Perspective  View. 


Steam  Passage  Wa// 2% f/iicft 
Cross-section  of  Cylinders. 

Section  at  a-a. 

The    Cracks    in    This    Low    Pressure    Cylinder    of    a     Rolling     Mill 
Engine   Were    Repaired    by  the   Oxy-Acetylene   Process. 


\  ./if  JL-Jnw'. 


•II 


Cutting   Off  the   Riser  from  a   Large   Gun   Carriage. 


Cutting   Done  by  Oxy-Acetylene   Blow   Pipe. 


BLOW-PIPE   WELDING  117 

theoretical  instruction  in  this  new  art,  the  first  build- 
ing appropriation  being  about  $40,000.  In  this 
school,  as  in  all  of  the  others  throughout  Germany 
and  the  rest  of  Europe,  the  instruction  is  being  car- 
ried out  along  the  best  standard  lines,  each  school 
being  advised  uniformly  of  the  latest  and  best  de- 


Replacing   Flue  Sheet  of   Marine   Boiler   by  Oxy-Acetylene  Welding 

on  the  Steamship  "Sanai."     At  the   Right  the  Welding   Is 

Completed,  While  at  the  Left   It   Is  in   Progress. 

Flue  Sheet  Is  One  Inch  Thick. 


velopments  in  the  practice  of  oxy-acetylene  welding, 
and  through  yearly  meetings  and  reports  from  all  of 
the  schools  and  industries,  the  best  developments  are 
taken  advantage  of  by  the  manufacturers  and  others, 
and  a  very  rapid  general  introduction  of  the  art  is 
being  made. 


118 


FOREIGN   RAILWAY  PRACTICE 


Variety  of  Work 

One  of  the  illustrations  shows  a  typical  example 
of  the  saving  that  can  be  made  by  oxy-acetylene 
welding  of  large  broken  gray  iron  castings  which  are 
too  large  to  carry  in  stock  for  replacement.  The 
sketches  show  a  low  pressure  cylinder  for  a  blower 
engine  in  a  rolling  mill.  This  cylinder  broke  as  indi- 
cated. To  cast  and  machine  a  new  cylinder  would 
have  meant  a  delay  of  a  month  and  would  have 


Main     Base     Casting     of     a     Shear     (Cast 

Iron)     After    Being     Repaired    with 

the  Oxy- Acetylene   Blow  Pipe. 

thrown  400  men  out  of  work  for  that  time.  The 
welding  of  cracks  in  a  large  complicated  casting  like 
this  represents  a  very  difficult  feat,  because  of  the 
tendency  of  cast  iron  to  develop  new  cracks  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  weld.  This  is  due  to  the  strain 
set  up  in  the  metal  when  the  casting  cools  after  weld- 


BLOW-PIPE  WELDING  119 

ing.  To  overcome  this  the  cylinder  was  covered  with 
asbestos  on  the  outside  and  kept  at  a  dull  red  heat 
by  a  wood  fire  inside  of  the  cylinder,  while  being 
welded  by  the  oxy-acetylene  flame.  The  operators 
wore  wooden  shoes  and  heavy  felt  gloves  and  worked 
behind  asbestos  shields  to  protect  themselves  from 
the  heat.  After  the  weld  was  completed  the  cylinder 
was  covered  with  insulation  and  allowed  to  cool  very 
slowly.  After  two  days  the  insulation  was  removed 
and  the  welds  were  found  to  be  perfect.  The  cylinder 
was  then  given  a  hydrostatic  and  a  severe  endurance 
test,  both  of  which  were  stood  without  a  sign  of  a 
flaw. 

In  railroad  work  applications  are  made  to  the  weld- 
ing of  safe  ends  to  flues;  in  the  filling  up  of  pitted 
spots  on  flues  after  they  have  been  rattled;  in  the 
cutting  out  of  all  kinds  of  holes  in  steel  sheets,  such 
as  fire-door  holes  before  flanging;  cutting  out  be- 
tween frame  jaws  in  plate  frames ;  various  classes  of 
boiler  repairs;  equipping  wrecking  outfits  with  ap- 
paratus for  cutting;  welding  together  of  cylinder  and 
valve  chest  covers,  dome  covers,  metal  tool  boxes, 
metal  shovel  handles,  etc.,  and  repairing  blow-holes 
in  all  kinds  of  castings  as  is  now  done  in  the  United 
States;  and,  in  fact,  an  innumerable  variety  of  work 
where  it  is  required  to  cut  two  pieces  of  steel,  iron  or 
other  metal  apart,  join  them  together,  or  add  metal 
to  worn  or  broken  parts,  or  parts  needing  bosses  or 
shoulders  instead  of  having  to  use  an  originally 
thicker  piece  of  metal. 

Although  I  had  letters  of  introduction  from  the 
best  sources,  and  was  freely  admitted  into  the  works 
where  these  processes  were  generally  employed,  I 
found  that  where  manufacturing  concerns  had 
specialists  on  certain  articles  and  had  been  able  to 
reduce  the  cost  of  production  very  much  through  the 


120  FOREIGN  RAILWAY  PRACTICE 

art  of  oxy-acetylene  welding,  strangers  were  not  ad- 
mitted to  the  plants,  and  the  art  was  guarded  as  a 
sort  of  trade  secret,  showing  the  value  attached  by 
manufacturers  to  some  of  the  most  important  de- 
velopments of  the  process  so  that  they  might  retain 
some  advantage  over  competitors. 


POLICIES    AND    PERSONNEL 


Typical  of  European  excellence  in  refined  design,  selection  of 
materials,  pleasing  appearance,  good  art,  enduring  construction, 
and  substantial  finish,  even  as  to  a  railway  water  tank!  This 
Hungarian  State  Railway  tank  is  140  feet  high,  260,000  gallons 
capacity. 


VIII 

POLICIES   AND   PERSONNEL 

THE  superiority  of  European  railroad  mechanical 
methods    generally   may   be   classed   as:   The 
training  of  personnel;  and  the  selection  and 
design  of  materials. 

In  the  treatment  of  the  employees  in  the  shops  and 
in  locomotive  running  service,  the  training  is  longer 
and  more  thorough  and  careful  than  it  is  with  us; 
and  this  training  has  as  its  objective  a  more  definite 
preparation  for  the  predetermined  vocation  of  the 
man. 

Apprentice  Training 

For  the  service  of  the  locomotive  and  car  shops, 
for  instance,  apprentice  courses  and  schools  in  con- 
nection with  the  works  or  shops  are  established  in  all 
of  the  countries,  with  the  result  that  each  succeed- 
ing generation  of  mechanics  finds  men  not  less  skilled 
than  their  fathers,  but,  on  the  contrary,  equally  as 
well  trained  in  practical  work  and  with  a  far  better 
understanding  of  the  technical  aspects  of  the  con- 
tinued improvement  in  mechanical  methods. 

The  apprenticeship  courses  are  almost  equivalent 
to  some  of  our  institutes  of  technology  in  the  techni- 
cal groundwork  of  instruction  imparted;  and  at  the 
same  time,  by  having  the  young  men  devote  the  ma- 
jority of  their  time  to  practical  shop  work,  often  in 
shops  especially  set  aside  for  the  purpose  where  cer- 
tain classes  of  material,  such  as  small  locomotive 
parts  and  shop  tools,  are  made  requiring  the  most  ac- 

123 


POLICIES    AND    PERSONNEL  125 

curate  workmanship,  they  become  practical  skilled 
mechanics. 

In  America  we  cannot  be  said  to  train  men  that 
they  may  be  fitted  as  mechanics.  The  young  man 
does  not  set  out  consecrated,  as  it  were,  to  the  high 
calling  of  producing  work  mechanically  and  beauti- 
fully without  flaws.  He  sets  out  rather  with  the  de- 
sire to  get  through  his  journeyman  and  mechanic 
days  as  hastily  as  possible  that  he  may  the  sooner  be 
an  inventor  or  a  shop  superintendent;  instead  of  the 
consummation  of  his  ambition  being  the  perfection 
of  his  skill,  such  skill  as  he  might  acquire  is  con- 
sumed by  his  ambition.  This  is  a  price  we  are  paying 
for  democracy,  and  our  industrial  efficiency  is  foot- 
ing the  bill.  We  must  admit  that  in  this  aspect  they 
do  things  better  abroad,  where  the  devotion  of  a  life 
to  the  service  of  a  (mechanical)  calling  is  still  a  live 
and  honored  tradition. 

The  enginemen  receive  similar  careful  training 
for  their  posts,  having  to  go  through  a  certain  amount 
of  shop  experience,  which  gives  them  a  knowledge 
of  the  machine  they  are  to  run  and  influences  their 
attitude  toward  the  careful  nursing  and  treatment 
of  that  machine  when  it  is  entrusted  to  their  care. 
The  result  of  this  attitude  is  on  the  one  hand  to  keep 
the  engine  at  all  times  in  the  best  working  condition, 
and  on  the  other  hand  to  get  from  it  the  maximum 
possible  efficiency.  By  these  methods  of  training, 
and  also  by  the  provident  welfare  and  benevolent 
institutions,  which  find  their  highest  development  in 
Germany,  the  men  fit  naturally  into  a  life  work  and 
position,  and  in  these  positions  they  are  given  op- 
portunity to  remain. 

Not  only  are  the  employees  carefully  prepared 
for  their  respective  trades,  but  the  engineers  who  are 
to  design  the  locomotives,  machinery  and  other  para- 


126  FOREIGN  RAILWAY  PRACTICE 

phernalia  of  railroad  operation  are  trained  with  a 
view  to  close  working  limits  of  the  materials  em- 
ployed. Attention  is  paid  to  the  quality  of  the  ma- 
terial— that  it  should  be  of  the  best  for  the  purpose 
in  view,  and  that  all  parts,  for  instance,  of  a  locomo- 
tive, shall  be  as  light  and  small  as  is  consistent  with 
strength  because  of  the  limitations  as  to  wheel  loads 
and  clearances.  For  these  reasons  greater  attention 
is  paid  to  the  nature  of  the  metal  entering  into  cylin- 
der and  other  castings,  into  rod  and  other  forgings, 
and  to  the  reduction  of  the  thickness  of  the  walls  and 
other  sections  to  a  minimum;  and  also  to  the  most 
careful  heat  treatment  and  subsequent  testing  of  all 
parts  so  as  to  eliminate  internal  stresses  in  the 
material. 

In  view  of  this  great  care  both  in  design  and  in 
selection  of  material,  the  locomotive  parts  are  not 
generally  subject  to  such  heavy  working  stresses  and 
fewer  engine  failures  take  place  due  to  breakages  of 
frames,  rods,  blowing  out  of  cylinder  heads,  etc. 

Fiscal  Policy 

The  fiscal  policy  of  the  roads  abroad  with  respect 
to  the  personnel,  particularly  of  the  shops,  is  such 
as  to  provide  an  even  average  of  working  hours  and 
working  output.  The  necessary  financial  reserves 
are  maintained  for  this  purpose  irrespective  of  the 
current  high  or  low  tide  of  traffic  receipts. 

The  general  policy  of  a  great  many  of  our  Ameri- 
can railroads  is  to  curtail  the  shop  payroll  and  hours 
whenever  a  business  depression  sets  in,  which  has 
unfortunate  results  in  the  disorganization  of  the 
working  forces,  causing  many  good  workmen  to  seek 
employment  in  other  towns,  and  tending  to  make  our 
mechanics  unsettled  drifters  from  one  branch  of  work 
to  another. 


POLICIES  AND   PERSONNEL  127 

None  realize  the  drawbacks  of  this  policy  better 
than  our  operating  officials  themselves,  and  the  nec- 
essary financial  support  should  be  given  to  the 
changes  in  this  procedure  that  they  would  be  only 
too  eager  to  bring  about.  The  annual  result  would 
increase  the  net  earnings  of  the  roads  as  compared 
with  the  losses  entailed  by  the  present  practice,  as 
as  well  as  give  better  service  and  operating  condi- 
tions. I  have  been  told  by  responsible  officers  that 
the  policy  of  retrenchment  which  is  very  frequently 
followed  to  curtail  expenses  at  the  close  of  the  fiscal 
year,  had  the  same  effect  on  the  momentum  of  the 
work  in  progress  as  the  continual  stopping  and  start- 
ing of  a  flywheel  would  have  on  the  even  running  of 
a  steam  engine. 

Conservatism  of  Europeans 

I  had  often  heard  of  the  ultra-conservatism  of 
Europeans  in  adopting  changes,  but  I  must  confess 
that  my  personal  observations  inclined  me  rather  to 
the  opposite  view.  I  found  European  engineers  and 
shop  officers  only  too  ready  to  accept  changes  in  ex- 
isting practice  that  could  be  shown  to  be  an  improve- 
ment. For  instance,  their  new  shop  layouts  are  well 
designed  and  the  most  modern  machinery  is  installed, 
some,  of  it,  as  stated,  coming  from  America.  Round- 
houses are  modern  in  construction,  such  details  as 
power  driven  turntables  (even  with  the  smaller  loco- 
motives used  abroad),  efficient  ventilation,  etc.,  being 
given  attention.  In  modern  improvements  in  loco- 
motive design,  we  must  give  Europe  credit  for  making 
the  fullest  practical  use  of  superheaters,  compound 
and  multi-cylinder  engines,  tank  engines  for  all 
classes  of  service  except  the  heaviest  long-distance 
through  express  and  freight  trains ;  and  we  should 


POLICIES  AND    PERSONNEL  129 

not  ignore  the  practical  conservation  resulting  from 
the  general  use  of  briquetted  fuel. 

A  conspicuous  example  of  this  alert  development 
of  the  new  in  technical  progress  has  already  been 
dealt  with  in  the  description  of  oxy-acetylene  weld- 
ing and  cutting.  Not  only  locomotive,  but  bridge 
and  marine  work  have  also  applied  this  new  art. 

Manufacture  of  Materials  and  Equipment 

In  another  respect,  however,  a  tendency  that  was 
not  so  good,  considered  economically,  either  with 
reference  to  the  railroad  operation  or  the  welfare  of 
the  industrial  community,  impressed  me  very 
strongly.  I  refer  particularly  to  conditions  obtaining 
in  England.  This  tendency  was  towards  the  manu- 
facture of  all  kinds  of  material  used  in  railroad  con- 
struction and  operation  at  the  company's  shops,  turn- 
ing the  railroad  into  a  very  large  manufacturing  con- 
cern. The  result  of  this  policy  on  the  part  of  the 
English  roads  is  that  the  locomotive  building  in- 
dustry there  has  received  so  little  encouragement 
that  it  is  placed  at  a  great  disadvantage  in  maintain- 
ing plants  for  the  supplying  of  engines  for  the  British 
colonies  and  for  export  to  other  countries  in  compe- 
tition with  some  of  the  great  continental  locomotive 
works.  The  same  condition  holds  true  with  regard 
to  the  rolling  of  steel  rails,  the  building  of  cars,  etc. 
This  is  a  policy  we  should  avoid  following  to  too 
great  an  extent  in  America,  as  railroads  are,  and 
should  primarily  confine  themselves  to  being,  a  trans- 
portation enterprise. 

The  manufacturing  business  presents  entirely  in- 
dependent and  different  problems,  and  can  be  handled 
quite  as  well,  if  not  better,  by  individuals  or  com- 
panies devoted  to  the  special  kind  of  manufacture  in 
question  than  is  feasible  by  the  large  organization 


130  FOREIGN  RAILWAY  PRACTICE 

of  a  railroad  whose  directors  and  principal  officers 
are  primarily  concerned  with  the  securing  and  han- 
dling of  traffic  and  the  financial  problems  involved. 

A  manufacturer  of  an  individual  article,  such  as  a 
bolt,  for  example,  has  to  devote  the  greatest  attention 
to  that  article  to  see  that  both  its  quality  and  its  price 
enable  it  to  survive  as  a  product  under  competitive 
conditions.  The  manufacturer  of  bolts  must  make 
each  bolt  produce  its  share  of  profits  or  dividends;  a 
railroad  company,  on  the  other  hand,  being  organized 
for  the  production  of  transportation  and  not  for  the 
manufacture  of  materials,  has  no  direct  or  competi- 
tive incentive  to  make  each  bolt  pay  a  dividend  or 
be  of  such  design  and  quality  that  it  may  compete 
(in  its  efficiency  as  a  bolt)  with  the  kinds  of  bolts  used 
by  other  railroads.  Marked  and  indirect  advantages 
accrue  from  leaving  manufacture  to  concerns  espe- 
cially equipped  therefor,  since  not  only  can  the  work 
be  produced  as  cheaply  or  more  cheaply,  with  all  the 
overhead  charges  included,  and  as  well  or  better  than 
can  be  done  by  the  railroad  shops;  but  also  the  em- 
ployees' families,  and  the  financial  supporters  of 
these  factories,  are  drawn  into  an  attitude  ^  sympa- 
thetic with  the  railroad  enterprise  instead  of  being 
indifferent  as  to  its  welfare.  Also  the  labor  position 
of  the  railroads  is  much  improved,  since  an  associa- 
tion of  employees,  that  can  make  a  simultaneous  de- 
mand for  an  entire  railroad  system,  will  be  split  up 
among  the  different  manufacturers  and  trades  sup- 
plying railway  materials,  leaving  to  each  industry 
the  handling  of  its  own  special  labor  problems  and 
requirements. 

It  is  well  recognized  in  America  that  some  of  our 
stupendous  organizations,  employing  tens  or  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  men,  have  become  unwieldy  in 
their  handling  of  questions  relating  to  the  personnel, 


POLICIES   AND   PERSONNEL  131 

owing  to  the  physical  impossibility  of  a  single  man 
at  the  head  deciding  upon  all  matters  .  On  the  other 
hand  there  has  been  a  tendency  to  take  away  the 
power  of  decision  from  subordinate  officers,  and 
officers  in  direct  relation  with  the  men  and  the  ques- 
tions concerning  them.  In  the  past,  in  smaller  con- 
cerns, where  the  employer  was  in  direct  touch  with 
his  men  and  with  the  industry,  the  working  condi- 
tion of  the  men  and  the  attention  given  to  the  char- 
acter of  the  product  were  more  satisfactory  and  gave 
rise  to  less  discontent,  both  on  the  part  of  the  workers 
and  on  the  part  of  the  users  of  the  materials,  than  is 
wont  to  be  the  case  where  the  activities  are  carried 
on  as  part  of  a  vast  corporation. 

Our  Railway  Business  Association  has  done  much 
to  calm  popular  clamor  for  the  unreasonable  in  rail- 
road legislation  and  to  counteract  a  tendency  toward 
drastic  rate  cutting  by  government  commissions. 
This  organization,  although  unasked,  took  the  side 
of  the  railroads  in  the  recent  period  of  stress,  and  by 
its  makeup  was  able  to  accomplish  much  that  the 
railroads  themselves  could  not  do.  Its  membership 
is  made  up  of  the  largest  and  strongest,  as  well  as  of 
numerous  minor  concerns,  scattered  over  the  land 
from  coast  to  coast.  All  members  are  active  allies 
of  the  railroads.  Their  influence  through  their  thou- 
sands of  employees  permeates  and  affects  public 
opinion  in  a  way  impossible  for  any  other  organiza- 
tion. When  one  considers  what  this  one  organiza- 
tion, friendly  to  the  railroads,  has  done,  the  advisa- 
bility of  taking  work  from  such  concerns  and  per- 
forming it  in  railroad  shops  becomes  questionable; 
in  fact,  it  seems  as  if  railroad  friendships  should  be 
built  up  even  more  among  outsiders  by  increasing 
the  list  of  those  from  whom  we  purchase  and  the  list 
of  articles  purchased.  Some  roads,  however,  seem 


132  FOREIGN  RAILWAY  PRACTICE 

to  be  going  in  the  other  direction  and  are  inclining 
toward  the  English  practice  in  this  matter. 

Operation  of  Equipment 

Besides  the  conditions  under  which  the  equipment 
and  other  materials  of  a  railroad  are  produced,  there 
is  much  that  is  instructive  to  us  in  Europe's  example 
in  the  operation  of  this  equipment.  Reference  has 
already  been  made  to  the  few  engine  failures,  which, 
for  instance,  on  the  Prussian  state  system,  are  of  such 
rare  occurrence  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  make  of 
them  a  matter  of  daily  or  hourly  report  with  con- 
tinual irritating  criticism  of  officers  and  men.  Of 
course,  reports  are  made  of  engine  failures  when  they 
occur,  but  these  are  due  almost  entirely  to  some  ex- 
ceptional and  unavoidable  accidental  cause,  failures 
due  to  wear  or  weakness  of  the  locomotive  parts  be- 
ing corrected  as  to  causes  before  a  failure  on  the  road 
can  take  place.  This  precaution  is  exercised  by  the 
most  careful  roundhouse  inspection,  both  on  the  part 
of  the  engine  crew  to  whom  the  engine  is  assigned, 
and  on  the  part  of  the  inspectors  charged  with  this 
duty.  This  care  in  keeping  the  engine  in  condition 
results  in  a  smoothness  and  reliability  of  working 
that  is  indeed  enviable. 

Operating  Economy 

Mention  has  also  been  made  of  the  economy  of  the 
European  locomotives  in  fuel  and  steam,  this  econ- 
omy commencing  with  the  design  of  the  locomotive 
and  ending  with  the  personal  interest  of  the  engineer 
and  fireman  and  the  supervision  given  to  their  in- 
dividual performances  by  the  motive  power  and 
transportation  officers.  Despite  our  abundance  of 
cheap  but  excellent  coal  in  America,  our  fuel  bill  con- 
stitutes such  a  large  percentage  of  railroad  operating 


POLICIES  AND   PERSONNEL  133 

cost  that  we  surely  should  be  as  unsparing  in  pains 
and  efforts  to  bring  this  fuel  consumption  to  a  mini- 
mum as  have  been  the  Europeans. 

In  view  of  the  several  respects  in  which  the 
European  railroads  are  excellently  maintained  and 
operated  with  closest  regard  to  excellence  of  service 
and  detailed  attention  to  economy  in  repair  and 
operation,  it  may  be  wondered  why  European  rail- 
roads are  not  more  profitably  run  than  are  the  Ameri- 
can roads.  While  abroad  I  gave  my  attention  to  the 
practical  shop  and  locomotive  aspects  of  the  roads, 
rather  than  to  a  comprehensive  study  of  their  finan- 
cial and  fiscal  arrangements  and  conditions,  but  as 
far  as  I  could  gather  from  the  published  statistics 
available  in  these  latter  respects,  and  from  conver- 
sations with  the  higher  railroad  officials,  the  greater 
first  cost  of  the  railroads  in  Europe,  due  to  their  hav- 
ing originally  been  built  through  thickly  settled  re- 
gions where  the  right-of-way  had  to  be  acquired  at 
a  high  price  from  private  owners,  has  imposed  upon 
the  roads  abroad  fixed  charges  much  greater  in  pro- 
portion to  the  volume  of  traffic  than  obtains  with  us. 
Another  influence  is  the  small  clearance  of  locomo- 
tives and  cars,  and  the  consequently  short  train 
lengths,  these  limitations  having  their  origin  in  the 
fact  that  the  early  railroad  equipment  comprised  car- 
riages and  wagons  transferred  from  the  highways  to 
the  metal  railed  tracks  by  providing  them  with 
flanged  wheels  and  pulling  them  by  a  steam  locomo- 
tive instead  of  animal  traction.  With  the  extension 
of  lines,  the  early  wagon  wheel  gage,  distance  be- 
tween double  tracks,  sections  of  tunnels  and  cuts 
(often  walled  so  that  the  least  width  or  strip  of  land 
necessary  would  have  to  be  purchased)  were  not  in- 
creased, and  it  was  not  considered  necessary  in  view 
of  the  greater  cheapness  of  steam  railroad  haul  com- 


134  FOREIGN   RAILWAY  PRACTICE 

pared  with  the  previous  horse  traffic.  The  reason  we 
have  employed  larger  clearances  in  America  is  that 
we  were  fortunate  in  building  our  railroads  through 
a  thinly  settled  and  comparatively  undeveloped  coun- 
try where  the  land  cost  was  not  so  serious  a  problem. 

Contrasts 

Since  coming  back  to  my  native  home,  I  have  won- 
dered over  the  contrasts,  the  differences  that  have 
arisen  in  so  many  details  in  Europe  and  America,  and 
I  am  most  weighed  down  by  the  difference  in  the 
way  the  European  and  the  American  view  the  human 
aspects  of  the  rail  transportation  problem.  We  have 
dealt  with  certain  aspects  of  the  employee — his  selec- 
tion, his  formative  period,  his  security  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  the  fruits  of  years  of  service.  These  methods 
are  in  distinct  contrast  to  the  individualistic  shift- 
for-yourself  free  American  melee,  which  has  finally 
crystallized  in  making  our  unions  so  strong — strong 
because  they  furnish  the  channel  through  which 
workmen  have  become  more  secure  in  their  positions. 
How  often  have  we  seen  workmen  lose  their  posi- 
tions due  to  the  fact  that  some  gang  foreman  was 
tyrannical  and  wished  to  exercise  the  power  to  which 
he  had  recently  been  promoted. 

The  contrast  in  the  attitude  toward  and  by  the 
public  is  equally  striking.  Rates  and  bases  for  them 
typify  such  relations.  In  England  and  America  rates 
have  arisen  almost  entirely  out  of  competitive  activi- 
ties between  either  routes  or  localities.  Certain 
maxima  have  been  established  by  law.  On  the  Con- 
tinent, and  particularly  in  Germany,  an  attempt  at 
a  scientific  kilometric-plus-terminal-charge  classifi- 
cation has  been  attempted,  governmental  control  of 
this  matter  being  similar  to  the  aim  of  our  own  Inter- 
state Commerce  Commission  legislation  and  decision 


POLICIES   AND   PERSONNEL  135 

today.  The  result  in  Germany  has  been  devious,  as 
witness  exceptions  to  the  flat  or  zone  tariffs.  Certain 
commodity  rates  existed  when  the  new  scientific  plan 
was  adopted.  Under  these  exceptions  or  "Ausna- 
hme"  tariffs  most  of  the  German  freight  of  today 
moves.  These  exceptional  tariffs  are  more  pliant  to 
traffic  growth  than  the  rigid  so  called  scientific  rates, 
which  have  correspondingly  diminished  in  propor- 
tion to  traffic  moved. 

Strangely  enough,  however,  nowhere  abroad  do 
we  see  any  indication  of  an  attempt  to  base  rates 
upon  physical  valuation  of  the  property  used  to  effect 
transportation.  This  is  a  new  shibboleth  that  has 
raised  its  head  in  our  land,  and  that  is  destined  to 
wander  a  tortuous  course;  we  cannot  but  wonder 
what  will  be  the  effect  on  two  roads  of  different  con- 
struction standards  between  the  same  termini,  or  two 
roads  of  similar  construction,  but  different  operating 
conditions. 


CONCLUSIONS 


IX 

CONCLUSIONS 

WE,  of  free  America,  may  thank  our  stars  that 
Europe's  ways,  Europe's  traditions,  Europe's 
limitations,  are  not  ours.  Particularly  is 
this  true  with  regard  to  railroad  standards,  practices, 
and  limitations.  The  attempts  that  have  been  made 
to  import,  and  use  European  track  and  locomotives, 
have  resulted  in  conspicuous  failure.  European  de- 
signs and  methods  are  not  adapted  to  our  rough, 
heavy  traffic,  conditions,  or  our  individualism.  In 
service,  in  rates,  in  wages,  in  labor  well-being,  and 
in  efficient  operation  and  financial  results,  we  may 
be  thankful,  like  the  Pharisee,  that  we  are  better  than 
those  others. 

But  let  us  not  be  dulled  into  a  smug  and  com- 
placent self-satisfaction  with  our  condition.  Our  rail- 
road situation,  being  the  very  warp  and  woof  of  our 
whole  industrial  and  social  fabric  and  prosperity,  is 
of  vital  concern  to  us  all.  And  its.  condition  is  not 
as  healthy  as  it  should  be.  We  have  reached  a  stage 
where  rates  tend  to  become  stable,  where  public  serv- 
ice on  the  one  hand  and  organized  labor  on  the  other, 
demand  greater  expenditures  for  facilities  and  for 
operation,  and  where  the  lessening  margin  for  net 
profits  makes  impracticable  needed  investment  in  im- 
provements. A  new  set  of  tactics  must  pilot  us  be- 
tween this  Scylla  and  Charybdis. 

Europe,  through  a  generation  of  experiment  and 
experience,  supplies  us  ready-made  with  methods 
which  we  may  well  adapt  to  our  particular  conditions. 
These  methods  involve  very  careful  scrutiny  of  the 

139 


140  FOREIGN   RAILWAY   PRACTICE 

details  of  construction,  maintenance,  and  operation; 
frugality  in  the  use  of  selected  materials;  painstak- 
ing vocational  railroad  training;  and  the  highest 
technical  skill  in  improving  designs  and  practice.  In 
all  these  details  Europe  has  reached  a  finished 
thoroughness  unattained  by  us  (save  in  our  tool  con- 
struction) that  is  of  moment  because  of  the  economic 
results  thereby  attained. 

Under  the  patronage  of  the  American  Railway 
Association,  two  great  movements  in  this  direction 
are  in  process:  improvement  of  rail  quality;  and 
better  use  of  the  two  million  freight  cars  that  we  have. 
If  this  same  body  would  support  a  central  laboratory, 
and  a  sufficient  corps  of  technical  and  practical  men, 
to  seek  out  the  very  best  of  each  detail  method  or 
design  that  had  been  developed  on  any  railway  in 
the  world,  and  to  sufficiently  test  the  comparative 
worth  of  these,  what  a  new  era  of — not  "scientific11 
but  practical  management  would  be  at  hand ! 

In  sum,  America  needs  yet  to  learn  to  use  carefully, 
that  which  we  have. 


'^r^S«&ts 

BooM  «*^sss Vr!$*»* *^~~~ 

tO   $    IA    TCa^.   n«a.ti   P61 '^f=sS:fSa^ 


REC'D 

FEB  2  0  1961 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


